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NDERGROUND TREASURES: 


How and Where to Find Them. 


A KEY 


FOR THE READY DETERMINATION OF ALL THE USEFUL 
MINERALS WITHIN THE UNITED STATES. 


BY JAMES ORTON, A.M., 

// 

Late Professor of Natural History in Vassar College, N. Y. ; Cor. 
Mem. of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, 
and of the Lyceum of Natural History, New York; 
Author of “ The Andes and the Amazon,” etc. 


L 


A NEW EDITION WITH ADDITIONS. 






a 

O 


ILLUSTRATED 





PHILADELPH 
HENRY CAREY B A I 

INDUSTRIAL PUBLISHERS. BOOKSELLERS AND IMPORTERS, 

81 o Walnut Street. 

1881. 


=sro 


























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Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1872, by 
WORTHINGTON, DUSTIN & CO., 

In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C. 

Copyright: 

HENRY CAREY BAIRD & CO. 

1881. 


1 













Table of Contents , 


CHAPTER i. 

PAGE. 

Introduction. —Money in the Rocks—The Underground 
Wealth of our Country—Valuable Minerals Disguised—How 
Great Fortunes are Missed—Number of Minerals in the 
United States—Object of this Work and How to Use it—The 
Best Mineral Regions,.9 


CHAPTER II. 

Directions for Determining Specimens by the Key.— 
How to Test Minerals with the Simplest Means—Prospecting 
with a Jack-knife and Common Sense—Use of the Key—How 
to Tell Pyrites from Gold, and Quartz from Diamond—All the 
Useful Minerals Grouped According to Hardness and Color, 15 


CHAPTER III. 

Descriptive List of Useful Minerals. —The Gems—Pre¬ 
cious Metals—Valuable Ores and Useful Minerals of the 
United States from Agate to Zinc—Their Distinguishing 
Characters, Uses and Localities—A Mineralogy for Miners 
—Agate — Alum—Amethyst— Anthracite—Antimony Ore— 
Asbestus—Asphaltum—Azurite—Baryta—Bituminous Coal— 
Blende—Bo^ Iron Ore—Brittle Silver Ore—Brown Coal- 
Calamine—Cannel Coal—Carnelian—Celestine—Cerussite— 
Chromic Iron—Cinnabar—Cobalt Pyrites—Copper—Copper 
Glance—Copper Nickel—Copper Pyrites—Diamond—Em¬ 
ery— Fluor Spar— Franklinite—Galena — Garnet — Gold— 
Graphite—Gray Copper Ore—Gypsum—Horn Silver—Iron 
Pyrites—Jasper—Kaolin—Lenticular Iron Ore—Limonite— 
Magnetic Iron Ore—Magnetic Pyrites—Malachite—Manga¬ 
nese Spar—Marble—Mica—Micaceous Iron Ore—Nitre— 
Oxyd of Manganese — Platinum—Red Copper Ore—Refl 
Hematite—Red Silver Ore—Rensselaerite—Rock Crystal— 
Rock Salt—Rutile—Serpentine—Silicate of Copper—Silver 
— Silver Glance — Smaltine— Smithsonite—Spajhic Iron — 
Specular Iron—Spinel Ruby—Steatite — Strontianite—Sul¬ 
phur—Tin Ore—Topaz —Tourmaline—Variegated Copper 
Ore—Wad—Willemite—Zincite, .......... 


20 
























CHAPTER IV 


PAGE. 

Prospecting for Diamonds, Gold, Silver, Copper, Lead 
And Iron. —Mineral Riches, how Discovered—Indications— 
Seaching for Diamonds, and how to Distinguish them—Pay¬ 
ing Localities of Gold—“ Fool’s Gold”—Prospecting for Sil¬ 
ver and Copper—Where to Look for Lead and Iron, . . . 81 


CHAPTER V. 

Assay of Ores. —When an Ore will Pay—Washing for Gold 
and Platinum—Howto Assay Gold in the Simplest Way—To 
Test any Rock for Gold and Silver—To Find the Purity of 
Gold—To Detect and Assay Silver Ores—Assay of Copper, 
Iron, Zinc, Tin and Lead Ores—Ready Method of Testing 
Graphite,.92 


CHAPTER VI. 

Mineral Springs. —What are Mineral Springs—General Lo¬ 
cation—Gas Springs—Iron Springs—Sulphur Springs—Alum 
Springs—Epsom Springs—Salt Springs—Warm Springs— 
Artesian Wells and Oil Wells, and Where to Bore for Them, 105 


CHAPTER VII. 

Artificial Jewelry— How Made and How Detected.— 
Mock Diamonds—“Paris Brilliants”—The Manufacture of 
Pastes—False Ruby, Topaz, Sapphire, Emerald and Carne- 
lian—How to Distinguish True and False Gems—Imitation 
Pearl and Coral—Artificial Gold—List of Precious Stones, 114 


CHAPTER VIII. 

Discovery of Gold in California,. 


CHAPTER IX. 

Discovery of Silver in Nevada, and United States 
Gold and Silver Statistics. 






















Inscribed 

V 

TO 

ROSSITER W. RAYMOND, PH. D., 

UNITED STATES 

Commissioner of Mining Statistics; 

EDITOR OF THE 

ENGINEERING AND MINING JOURNAL; 

AUTHOR OF 

“The Mines of the West,” etc. 















1 ^ 


^ M 

W”t> 




^rh 



























NOTE 


This little work was not written for min¬ 
eralogists, but expressly for the landholder, 
the farmer, the mechanic, the miner, the 
laborer, even the most unscientific. It is 
designed to enable such to discover for 
themselves, minerals and ores of use in the 
arts, and thus develop the resources and 
ascertain the value of any particular farm 
or region. It may save the owner from 
ruinous bargains, and may reveal a mine 
of mineral wealth, more sure and more 
profitable than any bank. 
















List of 

., I Lustrations. 




PROSPECTING THE GROUND,... .Frontispiece. 

FAC-SIMILE OF-NUGGET OF 

GOLD, (California,).Illuminated Title Page. 

PROSPECTING DIAMOND DRILL,. 4 o 

WASHING AURIFEROUS SANDS. 47 


SEARCHING FOR DIAMONDS,.121 

THE SAW-MILL OF COLOMA,.129 


(The place where Gold was first discovered in California.) 





















A KEY 

FOR THE READY DETERMINATION OF ALL THE 
USEFUL MINERALS WITHIN THE 
UNITED STATES. 

♦ M - 

CHAPTER I. 

INTRODUCTION. 


MONEY IN THE ROCKS—THE UNDERGROUND WEALTH 
OF OUR COUNTRY—VALUABLE MINERALS DISGUISED 
—HOW GREAT FORTUNES ARE MISSED—NUMBER OF 
MINERALS IN THE UNITED STATES—OBJECT‘OF THIS 
WORK AND HOW TO USE IT—THE BEST MINERAL 
REGIONS. 


INERALS head the list of the 
sources of our nation’s wealth. 
Gold, iron, coal and marble have 
not only contributed largely to 
the enterprise and opulence of America, 
but at this very moment they exert a com¬ 
manding influence in political circles. No 
one can prophesy the greatness of the 
commercial power which is sure to rise on 
their foundations. 

No other country can boast of such 













IO 


UNDERGROUND TREASURES. 


vast and valuable mineral deposits. Yet 
our country is not half developed. Treas¬ 
ures lie undiscovered in our mountains 
and under our farms,—gems of “purest 
ray serene” and still more precious metals. 
Some will be accidentally brought to light; 
but the majority are so disguised that their 
real nature is not seen. How unpromis¬ 
ing are the best ores of iron, zinc and 
silver and the rarest gems ! Then, again, 
there is “ mimicry ” in the mineral king¬ 
dom ; worthless stones are often good imi¬ 
tations of the valuable, and fortunes have 
been sunk in mining pyrites for gold, mica 
for silver and slate for coal. But if we 
wait for mineralogists to develop our min¬ 
eral resources, we must wait a millenium, 
our country is so vast and scientific labor¬ 
ers so few. Fortunately, however, nature 
has stamped upon each mineral some pecu¬ 
liar feature or assemblage of characters 
which enable any one with average com¬ 
mon sense to distinguish those which are 
of value in the arts. 









OBJECT OF THE WORK. 


I I 


The object of this work is to point out 
those distinctions so clearly and in popular 
language that those who do not claim to 
be scientific may determine specimens for 
themselves; in other words, to furnish a 
key for the ready determination of all the 
useful minerals within the United States * 
Two hundred and forty-four mineral 
species have been found within the bounds 
of the Union. Of these only one-third 
are of any use to the practical man. 
These eighty have certain general charac¬ 
ters in common, but always some specific 
differences. The object is to divide them 
into groups, as the botanist divides the 
plants, and then to separate the individuals 
by some properties or features peculiar to 
each. Only those minerals are mentioned 
which are useful: any specimen, therefore, 
which does not fit any of the descriptions 
given, may be considered of no special 

*The useful rocks, as granite, slate, sandstone, water- 
lime, etc., are not included. By “granite region” is 
meant one having rocks like New England, and there¬ 
fore unlike Western New York or Illinois. 









12 


UNDERGROUND TREASURES. 


value. By the term “ color,” is meant the 
color of a fresh fracture, for the exposed 
surface often misrepresents the true as¬ 
pect. Exact color is not meant, but “red” 
stands for reddish, “yellow” for yellowish, 
“white” for a light gray up to the per¬ 
fectly transparent. “ Magnetic ” means 
that the specimen disturbs the needle of 
a compass, or that a magnet will take up 
fine particles. A mineral is “opaque”; if 
the light will not pass through either the 
edges or a thin fragment. A “translu¬ 
cent ” mineral is either clear as crystal or 
only allows light to pass dimly through a 
thin portion. “ Effervescence ” is the bub¬ 
bling produced by the escape of a gas, as 
in soda-water. “Gravity” is the weight 
compared with that of an equal bulk of 
water. In the majority of cases the speci¬ 
men can be determined without it; but 
there may be several doubtful cases which 
can be settled only by obtaining the grav¬ 
ity. This is done by first weighing a frag¬ 
ment of the mineral in a small apothecary 








HOW TO FIND THE GRAVITY. 


13 


or jeweler’s balance, reckoning it in grains. 
Then by a thread suspend it below one of 
the scales in a tumbler of water, taking 
care that the specimen is covered with 
water and does not touch the sides. Sub¬ 
tract the weight in grains as it hangs in 
the water from the first weight, and divide 
the first weight by the difference: the re¬ 
sult is the gravity. Five per cent, should 
be allowed for impurities. Where exact¬ 
ness is not required, the gravity of a 
specimen may be judged by comparing it 
with well-known substances. Thus, 

The gravity of anthracite coal is about 1.5 


The gravity of brick is about 1.8 

The gravity of clay is about 2.0 

The gravity of marble and glass is about 2.5 
The gravity of slate is about 2.8 

The gravity of cast-iron is about 7.0 

The gravity of copper is about 9 o 

The gravity of lead is about 11.0 

If the gravity of a mineral is 1.5, a cubic 


inch of it will weigh about 3-4 ounce; if 
2., 1 oz.; if 2.5, 1 1-4 oz.; if 3., 1 1-2 oz.; 
if 4., 2 oz.; if 5, 2 1-2 oz., etc. 








UNDERGROUND TREASURES. 


14 


There is no section of our country that 
may not reward a diligent search for pre¬ 
cious or useful minerals. The rocks, how¬ 
ever, between the Alleghanies and the 
Atlantic and between the Rocky Moun¬ 
tains and the Pacific furnish the greater 
variety and abundance. Here are found 
the best ores. Gold and silver seem to 
abound more on the western than eastern 
sides of both mountain-chains. A trap- 
region, like the shore of Lake Superior 
and the Connecticut River Valley, is 
likely to be a good locality for copper and 
iron. The Mississippi Valley, or the re¬ 
gion of Bituminous Coal, furnishes chiefly 
iron and lead; gold, silver and copper are 
seldom found. In general, where the lay¬ 
ers of rock lie level and contain fossil 
shells, it is a locality good only for soft 
coal, (New York excepted), iron ore, gyp¬ 
sum and salt. The regions of granite, 
slate, limestone, marble, etc., offer the 
greatest inducement to search for useful 
minerals. 








Cl 


P 


CHAPTER II. 

DIRECTIONS FOR DETERMINING SPECI¬ 
MENS BY THE KEY. 


HOW TO TEST MINERALS WITH THE SIMPLEST MEANS 
— PROSPECTING WITH A JACK-KNIFE AND COMMON 
SENSE—USE OF THE KEY—HOW TO TELL PYRITES 
FROM GOLD AND QUARTZ FROM DIAMOND—ALL THE 
USEFUL MINERALS GROUPED ACCORDING TO HARD¬ 
NESS AND COLOR. 

IRST see whether it will scratch 
common window-glass. If it will 
make the least mark, it belongs 
to division A ; if not, it is to be 
found in group B. Next notice whether 
the light will shine through it: if it does 
not pass through even the. edges or a 
thin splinter, it is opaque ; if any light is 
allowed to pass, it is translucent. With a 
knife see if it is harder or softer than pure 
white marble; then, noting its color, com¬ 
pare it with the descriptions of minerals 
referred to by the numbers. If it agree 















16 


UNDERGROUND TREASURES. 


with none, it may be considered of no use 
in the arts. To make doubly sure, get the 
gravity as described on page 12. 

Examples: Suppose we have an un¬ 
known mineral in hand. We first try to 
scratch glass with it and find it impossible. 
It therefore belongs, to section B. Next 
we find it is opaque and yellow, and evi¬ 
dently heavier and harder than marble. It 
must be one of two: 44 attracts the com¬ 
pass-needle, and this will not; it is conse¬ 
quently 26 or Copper Pyrites , if it agree 
with the description. If not, it is some¬ 
thing of no great value. 

You have found what you think is a dia¬ 
mond. Does the specimen scratch glass ? 
Yes, easily, and is brittle. Can you see 
through it? You say it is clear as glass. 
Look now under section A, “translucent” 
series, number 6 (for it is colorless), and de¬ 
cide which of the four it is. The first one 
(27), is diamond; but do not let your wishes 
'make it agree. Turning to the description, 
you read that it can not be scratched with 











HOW TO USE THE KEY. 


17 


a file or worn down on a grindstone. This 
decides against it. Besides, the gravity 
(2.5) is too little. With the next (57) it 
agrees perfectly, and you need not go 
further. Should the specimen, however, 
agree very well with rock crystal, only that 
its gravity (3.5) is too great, then it is 
topaz. 

Hii^All minerals that scratch glass are 
brittle, and all (save 32 and 46) are in¬ 
fusible or melt with great difficulty. 

J^g^The following minerals will burn, 
evaporate or melt without a flux in an 
ordinary fire: Nos. 2, 4, 5, 7, 10, 13, 14, 
16, 18, 19, 21, 23, 24, 26, 29, 33, 35, 37, 44, 
53, 55, 62, 63, 70, 71, 75. All but the fol- 
lowing are heavier than marble: 2, 4, 6, 7, 
10, 14, 16, 34, 36, 40, 47, 48, 56, 60, 61, 69, 
71. Nos. 2, 50 and 58 alone dissolve in 
water. 

jf^ In determining color, be sure you 
have a fresh surface, for the outside is 
often deceptive. By “ blow-pipe ” is meant 
the tapering tube used by watch-makers. 








is 


UNDERGROUND TREASURES. 



WILL SCRATCH GLASS. 

I. OPAQUE. 

(1) Black: 12, 20, 28, 30, 42, 43, 51, 54, 67, 72. 

(2) Brown: 12, 28, 42, 59, 72, 77. 

(3) Red: 39, 46, 54, 59, 67. 

(4) Yellow: 38, 72, 77. 

(5) Gray: 22, 28, 72. 

(6) White: 64. 


II. TRANSLUCENT. 

(1) Brown: 32, 59, 72, 77. 

(2) Red: 17, 32, 46, 59, 68, 73, 74. 

(3) Yellow: 32, 59, 72, 73, 77. 

(4) Green : 74, 77. 

(5) Violet-blue: 3. 

(6) White: 27, 57, 73, 77. 

(7) Banded or clouded: 1. 













THE KEY. 


*9 


B. 


WILL NOT SCRATCH GLASS. 

I. OPAQUE. 


Harder than white marble.* 

Softer than white 

(1) Black: 11, 35, 47. 

4, 7, 10, 12, 13, 14, 

34 , 37 . 49 . 5 L 55 . 

(2) Brown : 66, 75. 

12, 14, 21. 

(3) Red: 44, 53, 75. 

21, 23, 41, 55. 

(4) Yellow: 26, 44. 

12, 33. 56. 

( 5 ) Green: 45. 

60, 6l. 

(6) Gray: 35, 66. 

5 . 24. 3 L 34 , 36, 49 ,. 
69. 

(7) White: 6, 9, 11. 

36, 40, 56, 62. 

II. TRANSLUCENT. 

(1) Black: n. 

55 - 

(2) Brown: 9, 11, 65, 66. 

48. 

(3) Red: 9, 11, 18, 53, 78. 

36, 55 - 

(4) Yellow: 9, n, 15, 29, 

48, 71. 

47 , 78 . 


(5) Green: 29. 45, 65, 70. 

48, 60, 61. 

(6) Blue: 8, 18, 29, 47. 


(7) Gray: 19, 47, 65, 66. 

37 , 69. 

(8) White : 18, 47. 

2. 

(9) Mottled or Banded: 47. 



*That is, they are not so easily cut with a knife; they 
do not necessarily scratch marble. 






















CHAPTER III. 


DESCRIPTIVE LIST OF USEFUL MINERALS. 


THE GEMS—PRECIOUS METALS—VALUABLE ORES AND 
USEFUL MINERALS OF THE UNITED STATES FROM 
AGATE TO ZINC—THEIR DISTINGUISHING CHAR¬ 
ACTERS, USES AND LOCALITIES — A MINERALOGY 
FOR MINERS. 


i.—A gate. 


HIS stone is a mixture of several 
kinds of quartz, mainly the white, 
red, brown and black, disposed 
in layers or clouds. The layers 
are zigzag, circular or in straight bands 
(onyx). Occurs in irregular rounded mas¬ 
ses ; not very translucent; not altered by 
heat or acids ; cannot be cut with a knife 
nor split into plates ; takes a high polish ; 
lustre glassy ; gravity 2.5. 

Value. —Used for jewelry and orna¬ 
mental work, mortars, vases, knife-handles, 















AGATE—ALUM. 


21 


burnishers, etc. The colors are deepened 
by boiling in oil and then in sulphuric acid. 

Localities. — Found in granite and 
trap regions, generally by the shores of 
rivers, lakes and the sea ; as, north-west 
shore of Lake Superior ; Missouri, Colum¬ 
bia, Colorado and Connecticut Rivers; 
Crescent City, Cal.; Hancock County, 
Ga.; near Tampa Bay, Fla.; Fulton, Penn.; 
Yellowstone Lake, Wy.* 

2.—Alum. 

Occurs in mealy or solid crusts, often 
fibrous ; dissolves in water; tastes sweet¬ 
ish-astringent ; melts and froths up when 
heated. 

Value. —Extensively used in dyeing 
and calico-printing, candle-making, dress¬ 
ing skins, clarifying liquors and in phar¬ 
macy. 

Localities. —Found incrusting and im¬ 
pregnating dark slaty rocks, with yellow 


* Only the best known localities in the United States 
are given. For these we are indebted mainly to Pro¬ 
fessor Dana’s great work on Mineralogy. 
















22 


UNDERGROUND TREASURES. 


streaks. Cape Sable, Md.; Cleveland 
County, N. C.; coal slates on Ohio River, 
and in caves in Sevier, De Kalb, Coffee 
and Franklin Counties, Tenn.; also Esme¬ 
ralda and Storey Counties, Nev. 

3 —Amethyst. 

Same as Rock Crystal , but colored pur¬ 
ple or bluish violet. Generally in clustered 
crystals. 

Value. —When clear and finely colored, 
it is a favorite gem. 

Localities. —Usually found with agate. 
Keweenaw Point, Pic Bay and Gargontwa 
on Lake Superior; Bristol, R. I ; Surry, 
N. H.; East Bradford, Aston, Chester, 
Thornbury, Edgemont, Sadsbury, Bir¬ 
mingham, Middletown and Providence, 
Penn.; Greensboro, N. C. 

4.—Anthracite. 

Occurs massive ; compact; high lustre ; 
brittle ; breaks with a curved surface ; will 
not scratch marble ; burns, but not readily, 
with a pale blue flame and little smoke ; 








ANTHRACITE-ANTIMONY. 


23 


will not form coke by roasting; gravity 
1.4 to 1.8. 

Value. —Used for fuel and sometimes 
cut into inkstands, etc. 

Localities. —Found in beds between 
slates and sandstones, and east of the Al¬ 
leghany range only, as Eastern Pennsylva¬ 
nia ; Portsmouth, R. I.; Mansfield, Mass.; 
North Carolina. No workable beds will 
be found in New York. 

The rocks in anthracite regions are tilt¬ 
ed, bent and broken, never level to any 
great extent. Impressions of leaves are 
good indications. 

5.—Antimony Ore. 

Occurs fibrous or granular; color lead 
gray, often tarnished ; shining lustre, brit¬ 
tle ; but thin pieces can be cut off with a 
knife ; melts in a candle, at a high heat 
passing off in vapor ; gravity 4.5. 

Value. —The source of the antimony 
of commerce, containing seventy per cent. 

Localities. —Found associated with 
Silver, Spathic Iron , Blende , Baryta and 








24 


UNDERGROUND TREASURES. 


Quartz. Carmel, Me. ; Lyme, N. H.; Sol¬ 
dier’s Delight, Md. ; Aurora, Nev. ; San 
Amedio Canon and Tulare County, Cal. 

6 —Asbestus. 

Occurs finely fibrous, flax-like ; flexible, 
not elastic ; silky lustre, sometimes green¬ 
ish ; gravity 3. 

Value. — Used for lining safes and 
steam-packing, and for making incombus¬ 
tible cloth, lamp-wicks, etc. 

Localities. —Found in granite-regions 
east of the Alleghanies ; often with Serpen¬ 
tine. Brighton, Dedham, Newbury, Pel¬ 
ham and Sheffield, Mass.; Milford, West 
P'arms, Winchester and Wilton, Conn.; 
Chester, Mt. Holly and Cavendish, Vt.; 
Patterson, Phillipstown, Monroe and Sta¬ 
ten Island, N. Y.; Brunswick, N. J.; 
East Nottingham, Goshen and Aston, 
Penn ; Bare Hills and Cooptown, Md.; 
Barnet’s Mills, Va. 

7.—Asphaltum. 

Occurs massive ; brittle ; breaking with 
high lustre like hardened tar, and with 








ASPHALTUM-AZURITE. 


25 


curved surface ; melts and burns readily 
with flame and smoke; gravity 1.2, some¬ 
times floats on water. 

Value. —Used for cements and var¬ 
nishes. 

Localities. —Found generally near the 
surface. Near the coast of Santa Barbara, 
Cal.; West Virginia, twenty miles south 
of Parkersburg. 

8.—Azurite. 

Occurs in crystals and masses with 
glassy lustre, or earthy and dull; brittle ; 
crackles and blackens, and finally fuses by 
heat; dissolves with effervescence in nitric 
acid ; gravity 3.5. 

Value. —A valuable ore of copper, con¬ 
taining sixty per cent. 

Localities. —Found chiefly in lead and 
copper mines. Perkiomen lead mine, Corn¬ 
wall, Phoenixville and Nicholson’s Gap, 
Pa ; near New Brunswick, N. J.; near 
Mineral Point, Wis.; Polk County, Tenn.; 
Calaveras and Mariposa Counties, Cal.; 
near Virginia City, Mont. 












2 6 


UNDERGROUND TREASURES. 


9.—Baryta, or Heavy Spar. 

Occurs in crystals, plates and masses ; 
powder white; brittle; crackles when 
strongly heated ; not dissolved in acids; 
easily distinguished by its weight; gravity 
4.5, or twice as heavy as Gypsum. 

Value. — Used extensively as white 
paint and in pottery. 

Localities. —Found in mining dis¬ 
tricts, often with lead, copper and iron ores, 
and in limestone. Piermont, N. H.; Hat¬ 
field, Southampton and Leverett, Mass.; 
Cheshire and Berlin, Conn.; Pillar Point, 
Rossie, Carlisle, Scoharie, De Kalb, Gouv- 
erneur, N. Y.; Fauquier and Buckingham 
Counties, Va.; Union, Gaston and Orange 
Counties, N. C.; near Paris, and in An¬ 
derson, Fayette, Mercer and Owen Coun¬ 
ties, Ky.; on Browns Creek and Hays- 
boro, Tenn.; Bainbridge, O.; Scales 
Mound, Ill ; Prince Vein, Lake Superior; 
Mine-a-Barton, Mo.; near Fort Wallace, 
N. M.; Ingo County, Cal. 













BITUMINOUS COAL. 


27 


10.—Bituminous Coal. 

Occurs in masses, beds or seams; softer 
and duller than Anthracite ; often a bright 
pitchy lustre; brittle, showing a slaty or 
jointed structure rather than curved sur¬ 
face ; powder black; burns readily with 
yellow flame; by roasting forms coke; 
gravity 1.5 or less. 

Value. —Used for fuel and the produc¬ 
tion of gas, coke, carbolic acid and aniline. 

Localities. —Found west of Harris¬ 
burg, Pa., in rocks (slates and sandstones) 
less disturbed than in the Anthracite re¬ 
gion. Western Pennsylvania; South-east 
Ohio ; West Virginia ; Eastern Kentucky 
and Tennessee to Tuscaloosa; North-west 
Kentucky; Illinois; Iowa; Missouri; Kan¬ 
sas; Arkansas; Northern Texas; Central 
Michigan ; Owyhee County, Idaho ; Deer 
Lodge and Gallatin Counties and sixty 
miles north-east of Bannock. Mont. 

11.—Blende. 

Occurs in crystals and masses; waxy 
lustre, but not always very apparent; usual 









2 8 


UNDERGROUND TREASURES. 


color, rosin-yellow to dark brown ; brittle; 
the powder, which is whitish to reddish- 
brown, dissolves in muriatic acid giving 
off the odor of rotten eggs ; by roasting 
gives off sulphur-fumes ; infusible alone, 
but on charcoal at a high heat gives off 
white fumes ; gravity 4. 

Value. —An ore of zinc (containing 
sixty-six per cent.) and a source of white 
vitriol. Often worked for its Silver and 
Gold. 

Localities. —Found with lead and oth¬ 
er ores. Lubec and Bingham, Me., Eaton, 
Warren and Shelburne, N. H.; Sterling, 
Southampton and Hatfield, Mass.; Brook¬ 
field, Berlin, Roxbury and Monroe, Conn.; 
near Wurtzboro’, Cooper’s Falls, Mineral 
Point, Fowler, Ancram, Clinton and Spra- 
ker’s Basin, N. Y.; Wheatley and Perkio- 
men lead-mines, Schuylkill, Shannonville 
and Friedensville, Pa.; Austin’s lead-mine, 
Va.; Haysboro’, Brown’s Creek and Polk 
Counties, Tenn.; Prince Vein, Mich. ; 
Dubuque, la.; Warsaw, Rosiclare and Ga- 








BOG IRON ORE. 


2 9 


lena, Ill.; Shullsburg, Wis.; Stillwater, 
Minn. 

12.—Bog Iron Ore. 

Occurs in masses or beds, looking much 
like hard brown earth; loose or porous 
and earthy, rather than compact and 
nodular; powder yellowish-brown; when 
strongly heated becomes black and mag¬ 
netic ; gravity nearly 4. An earthy yel¬ 
low variety is called Yellow Ochre. 

Value. —An important ore, yielding 
thirty-five per cent. 

Localities. —Found in low, marshy 
grounds; widely distributed. Lebanon, 
N. H.; Berkshire and Plymouth Counties, 
Mass.; Columbia, St. Lawrence, P'ranklin 
and Jefferson Counties, N. Y.; New Lim¬ 
erick, Katahdin, Newfield, Shapleigh, Ar- 
gyle, Clinton, Williamsburg and Lebanon, 
Me.; Darien and Martin Counties, Ind.; 
Monmouth County, N. J.; Somerset and 
Worcester Counties, Md.; Michigan, Ohio, 
Illinois, Wisconsin, etc. 













30 


UNDERGROUND TREASURES. 


13.—Brittle Silver Ore. 

Occurs in crystals and masses ; metallic 
lustre; tarnishes yellow, gray and finally 
black ; easily cut or broken; when heated 
gives off fumes of sulphur and antimony, 
affording a button of silver; dissolved in 
nitric acid, it silvers copper placed in it; 
gravity 6. 

Value. —A rich ore of silver, contain¬ 
ing over sixty per cent. 

Localities. —Found in veins with other 
silver ores, in Nevada and Idaho. 

14.—Brown Coal. 

Occurs like Bituminous Coal , but usu¬ 
ally brownish-black with less lustre, and 
often showing a woody or slaty structure ; 
powder always brown; contains fossil 
plants ; gravity between 1.2 and 1.5. 

Value. —Inferior to No. 10. Makes no 
coke. Can be used in the manufacture of 
alum. 

Localities. —Found in thin veins or 
elliptical masses, never in extensive layers 
like Pennsylvania coal. Near Richmond, 










CALAMINE-CANNEL COAL. 


31 



Va.; Deep River, N. C.; Michigan, Mis¬ 
souri, Texas; Evanston, Utah; Coal 
Creek and Bellmonte, Col. ; Boreman, 
Dearborn River and Greenhorn Gulch, 
Mont. 

15.—Calamine. 

Occurs in crystals and masses ; glossy 
lustre ; harder than marble ; brittle ; heat¬ 
ed it swells up, becomes opaque and emits 
a green light; dissolves, when powdered, 
in hot sulphuric acid without effervescence ; 
gravity 3.4. 

Value. —An ore of zinc yielding from 
forty to sixty per cent. 

Localities.— Found in limestone rock 
with other ores. Friedensville, Perkiomen, 
Phoenixville, Lancaster and Selin’s Grove, 
Pa. ; Austin’s Mines in Wythe County, 
Va.; Claiborne County, Tenn.; Jefferson 
County, Mo. 


16.—Cannel Coal. 

Occurs in compact masses ; dull lustre ; 
brittle, breaking with a curved surface; 









32 UNDERGROUND TREASURES. 


burns readily but does not melt; does not 
soil the fingers ; gravity about 1.2. 

Value. —Used for fuel and for making 
gas, oil and ornaments. 

Localities. —Found in the Mississippi 
Valley; Kentucky; Lick, Ohio ; Illinois; 
Moniteau County, Mo.; Kenawha County, 
Va.; Beaver County, Pa. 


17.—Carnelian. 


Occurs in masses or pebbles ; at first 
grayish, but by exposure to the sun be¬ 
comes uniform flesh, red or brown, never 
striped,—although Carnelian may form one 
of the bands of an Agate; brittle, break¬ 
ing with a curved surface; very hard ; 
takes a fine polish ; glassy or resinous lus¬ 
tre ; gravity 2.6. 

Value. —Used for jewelry. When of 
two layers, white and red, (properly called 
sardonyx,) it is used for cameos. 

Localities. —Same as Agate. 


iS.—C elestine. 


Occurs crystallized, fibrous and massive ; 
color white, often faint bluish ; glassy lus- 


ate 












CELESTINE—CERUSSITE. 33 


tre; very brittle; under the blow-pipe 
crackles and melts, tinging the flame red ; 
does not dissolve in acids ; gravity 4. 

Value. —The source of nitrate of stron- 
tia, used in fire-works. 

Localities. —Found in limestone, gyp¬ 
sum and sandstone. Rossie, Schoharie, 
Chaumont Bay, Depauville and Stark, 
N. Y.; Frankstown, Pa.; Strontian and 
Put-in-Bay Islands, Lake Erie; near Nash¬ 
ville, Tenn.; Fort Dodge, Iowa. 

19.—Cerussite. 

Occurs in crystals, in powder or masses ; 
glassy lustre ; brittle ; dissolves in nitric 
acid with effervescence; heated strongly 
on charcoal crackles and fuses, giving a 
globule of lead ; gravity 6.4. 

Value. —A rich ore of lead yielding 
seventy-five per cent. 

Localities. —Found in lead mines. 
Southampton, Mass.; Perkiomen, Phoenix- 
ville, Charlestown and Schuylkill, Pa.; 
Wythe County, Va. ; Washington Mine, 
N. C. ; Valle’s Diggings, Mine-la-Motte 



D 








34 


UNDERGROUND TREASURES. 


and Mine-a-Burton, Mo.; Davies and Rock 
Counties, Ill.; Blue Mounds, Wis.; Ingo 
County, Cal. 

20.—Chromic Iron. 

Occurs in compact masses ; powder dark 
brown ; small pieces sometimes attracted 
by the magnet; brittle, breaking with un¬ 
even surface ; with borax melts into a green 
globule ; not acted upon by acids ; little 
lustre ; gravity 4.4. 

Value. —Used in making the chrome 
pigments. 

Localities. — Found in Serpentine. 
Bare Hills, Cooptown and north part of 
Cecil County, Md.; Nottingham, W. Go¬ 
shen, Williston, Fulton, Mineral Hill, 
Texas and Unionville, Pa.; Jay, New Fane, 
Westfield and Troy, Vt.; Chester and 
Blanford, Mass.; Loudon County, Va.; 
Yancy County, N. C.; North Almaden, 
New Idria and Coloma, Cal. 

21.—Cinnabar. 


Occurs in granular or earthy masses ; 
resembles iron-rust, but is a yellowish-red ; 







CINNABAR-COBALT. 


35 


powder scarlet; easily cut with a knife ; 
thrown on red-hot iron, evaporates, giving 
off odor of sulphur; rubbed on copper, 
“ silvers ” it; gravity 9, or about as heavy 
as Copper. 

Value. —The source of mercury (con¬ 
taining eighty-four per cent.) and vermilion. 

Localities. —Found in slate and lime¬ 
stone rocks. Centreville, Coulterville, 
New Idria and New Almaden, and Lake 
and San Luis Obispo Counties, California; 
Idaho. 

22.—Cobalt Pyrites. 

Occurs crystallized and massive ; does 
not scratch glass easily ; metallic lustre : 
tarnish, copper-red ; powder, blackish- 
gray ; brittle; heated on charcoal gives 
off sulphur fumes; heated with borax 
gives a blue glass ; gravity 5. 

Value. —An ore of cobalt, yielding 
twenty per cent. 

Localities. —Usually found in slate or 
granite rocks with Copper Pyrites , Min¬ 
eral Hill, Md.; Mine-la-Motte, Mo. 














36 UNDERGROUND TREASURES. 


23.—Copper. 

Occurs in irregular masses; metallic 
lustre ; can be cut with a knife ; mallea¬ 
ble ; ductile ; fusible ; gravity 8.8. 

Value. —A source of copper and silver. 

Localities. —Most abundant in the 
trap and “freestone” regions. New Bruns¬ 
wick, Somerville, Schuyler’s and Fleming- 
ton, N. J.; Whately, Mass.; Cornwall and 
Shannonville, Pa.; Polk County, Tenn. ; 
Keweenaw Point, Lake Superior ; Calave¬ 
ras, Amador and Santa Barbara Counties, 
Cal.; on Gila River, Ariz. 

24.—Copper Glance. 

Occurs crystallized and massive ; color, 
blackish lead-gray, often tarnished blue or 
green ; nearly as hard 4s marble ; brittle ; 
a splinter will melt in a candle, giving off 
the odor of sulphur ; dissolved in nitric 
acid, it will coat a knife-blade with copper ; 
metallic lustre; gravity 5.5. 

Value. —An ore of copper, yielding 
seventy-five per cent. 

Localities. —Found at copper-mines. 











NICKEL-PYRITES. 


37 


Simsbury, Bristol and Cheshire, Conn.; 
Schuyler’s Mines, N. J. ; Orange County, 
Va. ; near Newmarket, Md.; Lake Su¬ 
perior copper-region ; La Paz, Arizona ; 
Washoe, Humboldt, Nye and Churchill 
Counties, Nev. 

25. —Copper Nickel. 

Occurs in masses ; metallic lustre; color 
pale copper-red ; tarnishes gray to black ; 
powder pale brownish-black ; brittle; on 
charcoal melts giving the odor of garlic; 
becomes green in nitric acid ; gravity 7.5. 

Value. —An ore of nickel (containing 
forty-four per cent.) and arsenic. 

Localities. —Found in granite regions. 
Chatham, Conn. 

26. —Copper Pyrites. 

Occurs in crystals and masses ; color 
brass-yellow ; tarnishes green; metallic 
lustre when freshly broken ; can be cut 
with a knife; brittle; powder greenish 
black; on charcoal melts giving off sul¬ 
phur fumes ; dissolves in nitric acid, mak¬ 
ing a green liquid ; gravity 4.2. 



O 









38 UNDERGROUND TREASURES. 


Value. —If of a fine yellow hue, it is a 
valuable copper ore (yielding from twelve 
to forty per cent.) and source of blue vitriol. 

Localities. —Found in mountainous or 
granite regions with other ores. Lubec 
and Dexter, Me. ; Franconia, Unity, War¬ 
ren, Eaton, Lyme, Haverhill and Shel¬ 
burne, N. H. ; Corinth, Waterbury and 
Strafford, Vt.; Southampton, Turner s 
Falls, Hatfield and Sterling, Mass. ; Bris¬ 
tol and Middletown, Conn. ; Ancram, 
Rossie, Wurtzboro’ and Ellenville, N. Y.; 
Phoenixville and Pottstown, Pa. ; Bare 
Hills, Catoctin Mountains, near Newmar¬ 
ket and Fdnksbury, Md.; Phoenix and Wal¬ 
ton Mines, Va.; Greensboro, Charlotte and 
Phoenix Mines, N. C.; Hiwassee Mines, 
Tenn ; Cherokee, Rabun and Habersham 
Counties, Ga.; Presque Island, Lake Su¬ 
perior ; Mineral Point, Wis.; Union, Key¬ 
stone, Empire and other mines, Calaveras 
County, La Victoire and Haskell claims 
in Mariposa County, Amador and Plumas 
Counties, Cal.; near Virginia City, Mont. 


O 


u 








PROSPECTING DIAMOND DRILL. 











































































































































































































































































































































DIAMOND — EMERY. 


27.—Diamond. 


Occurs in crystals and irregular angular 
masses ; cannot be scratched by any other 
mineral or the file ; brilliant lustre ; feels 
cold to the touch ; when rubbed on the 
sleeve exhibits electricity for hours ; retains 
the breath but a short time ; often tinged 
yellow, red, or green ; gravity 3.5. 

Value. —Used for jewelry, lenses and 
for cutting glass. 

Localities. —Found in gold-regions, 
in river-washings of sand and pebbles; 
usually with coarse gold, but deeper down. 
Rutherford, Cabarras, Franklin and Lin¬ 
coln Counties, N. C.; Hall County, Ga.; 
Manchester, Va.; Cherokee Ravine, N. San 
Juan, French Canal, Forrest Hill, Placer- 
ville.and Fiddletown, Cal. 


28.—Emery. 


Occurs in granular masses, sometimes 
with bluish crystals; looks like fine grained 
iron ore; breaks with uneven surface; 
scratches quartz easily ; very tough ; brit¬ 
tle ; gravity 4. 


C ^ 


ML 









0 ..—- ■ — C 


$- 4 * M' 

42 UNDERGROUND TREASURES. 

Value. —Used extensively as a cutting 
and polishing material. 

Localities. —Found generally in lime¬ 
stone or granite with Magnetic Iro 7 i Ore. 
Chester, Mass.; Newlin and Unionville, 

Penn.; Macon and Guilford Counties, 

N. C. 

29.—Fluor Spar. 

Occurs in square crystals and in mass¬ 
es ; glassy lustre; powder white ; brittle ; 
crackles when heated and then shines in 
the dark ; does not effervesce with acids ; 
is not scratched by marble ; gravity 3. 

Value. —Used as flux in glass and iron 
works. 

Localities. —Found in limestone, gran¬ 
ite, slate, etc., often at lead-mines. Blue 

Hill Bay, Me.; Westmoreland, N. H.; 
Putney, Vt.; Southampton, Mass.; Trum¬ 
bull, Plymouth, Middletown and Williman- 
tic, Conn.; Muscolonge Lake, Rossie and 
Johnsburg, N. Y. ; near Franklin, N. J.; 
near Woodstock and Shepardstown, Va. ; 
Smith County, Tenn.; Mercer County, 

% 

, 

(JL,-cJ 

J 









THE MINERALS TREATED. 


43 


Ky.; Gallatin County, along the Ohio, Ill. 
Castle Dome District, Ariz. 

30.—Franklinite. 

Occurs crystallized and in masses; gen¬ 
erally made of coarse grains ; brittle ; pow¬ 
der dark reddish-brown ; heated with soda 
turns bluish-green ; dissolves in muriatic 
acid ; gravity 5. 

Value. —An ore of zinc. 

Localities. —Found in limestone with 
Garnet and Zincite . Hamburg and Stir¬ 
ling Hill, N. J. 

31.—Galena. 

Occurs in crystals and masses ; brilliant 
lustre; brittle; easily broken ; powder, 
when finely rubbed is black ; can be cut 
with a knife ; heated it gives off sulphur 
and melts ; dissolves in nitric acid leaving 
a white powder at the bottom ; gravity 
7.5—or a little heavier than cast-iron. 

Value. —The main source of lead (yield¬ 
ing eighty per cent), and also smelted for 
the silver it contains. Used also in glaz¬ 
ing stone-ware. 


O 









44 


UNDERGROUND TREASURES. 


Localities. —Generally found in lime¬ 
stone with Iron Pyrites , zinc-ore, etc. 
That found in slate is richest in silver. 
Abounds in Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, Wis¬ 
consin and Arkansas ; Rossie, Wurtzboro, 
Ancram, Macomb and Ellenville, N. Y.; 
Lubec, Blue Hill Bay, Bingham and Par- 
sonsville, Me.; Eaton, Shelburne, Haver- 
ill, Warren and Bath, N. H.; Thetford, 
Vt. ; Southampton, Leverett and Sterling, 
Mass.; Middletown and Roxbury, Conn.; 
Phoenixville, Charlestown, Schuylkill, Pe- 
quea Valley and Shannonville, Pa. ; Aus¬ 
tin’s and Walton’s Mines, Va. ; Cabarras 
County, N. C.; Brown’s Creek and Hays- 
boro, Tenn.; Chocolate River, Mich.; Ingo 
County, Cal.; on Walker’s River and 
Steamboat Springs, Nev.; Castle Dome 
and Eureka, Ariz.; Clear Creek County, 
Col.; Virginia City and Red Bluff Lode, 
Mont.; Cache Valley, Utah. 

32.—Garnet. 

Occurs in crystals with four-sided faces; 
often nearly round ; deep red, which grows 


GT 








THE MINERALS TREATED. 


45 


darker by heat; rarely yellow; also in 
brown masses ; melts at a high heat; brit¬ 
tle ; not scratched by a knife ; glassy lus¬ 
tre ; gravity 4. 

Value. —The clear deep red and yellow 
varieties are used for jewelry ; the massive 
brown is ground for “emery.” 

Localities. — Found in slate and gran¬ 
ite rocks. Bethel, Parsonsfield, Phipps- 
burg, Windham, Brunswick and Ranford, 
Me.; Hanover, Franconia, Haverhill, 
Warren, Unity, Lisbon and Grafton, N. 
H. ; New Fane, Cabot and Cavendish, Vt. ; 
Carlisle, Boxborough, Brookfield, Brim- 
field, Newbury, Bedford, Chesterfield and 
Barre, Mass. ; Reading, Monroe, Haddam 
and Middletown, Conn. ; Rogers’ Rock, 
Crown Point, Willsboro, Middletown, Am¬ 
ity, and near Yonkers, N. Y. ; Franklin, 
N. J.; Pennsbury, Warwick, Aston, 
Knauertown, Chester, Leiperville and Min¬ 
eral Hill, Pa. ; Dickson’s Quarry, Del.; 
Hope Valley, Cal. ; near Virginia City, 
on Yellowstone and Madison Rivers, Mont. 












4 6 UNDERGROUND TREASURES. 



33—Gold. 

Occurs in scales, grains and nuggets, or 
disseminated through cellular quartz ; me¬ 
tallic lustre; without tarnish ; can be cut 
and hammered into thin plates ; not dis¬ 
solved by nitric acid ; gravity 19, when 
pure and of a rich gold yellow color. The 
pale or brass yellow specimens are much 
lighter, the gravity being as low as 13. A 
grayish yellow gold, occurring in small, 
flat grains has a gravity of about 16. 

Localities. —Found in veins of quartz 
running through greenish or grayish slates, 
the quartz at the surface being generally 
full of cavities and rusted, and the slates 
below the surface often containing little 
cubic crystals of Iron Pyrites: also in the 
valleys traversed by mountain-streams and 
in the river sands and gravel below. Iron 
and Copper Pyrites , Galena and Blende 
frequently contain gold. Masses of quartz 
and pyrites from the gold-regions, which 
make no show of gold, sometimes pay 
well; the value of such specimens can be 


O 








WASHING AURIFEROUS SANDS. 












































































































































































































































































































































































































THE MINERALS TREATED. 


49 


determined only by an assayer. Eastern 
range of Appalachians, as Habersham, 
Rabun, Clark, Hall, Lumpkin and Lincoln 
Counties, Ga.; Abbeville, Chesterfield, 
Union, Lancaster and Pickens Counties, 
S. C.; Montgomery, Cabarras, Mechlen- 
burg, Burke and Lincoln Counties, N. C.; 
Spotsylvania, Buckingham, Lauquier, Staf¬ 
ford, Culpepper, Orange, Goochland and 
Louisa Counties, Va.; Dedham, Mass.; 
Bridgewater, Vt.; Canaan and Lisbon, 
N. H. ; on Sandy River and Madrid, Me. 
Numberless points along the higher Rocky 
Mountains and western slope of Sierra 
Nevada, as near Santa Le, Cerillos and 
Avo, New Mex. ; San Lrancisco, Wauba 
and Yuma District, Ariz ; between Long’s 
Peak and Pike’s Peak, Col.; Comstock 
Lode, Nev.; Owyhee, Boise and Llint Dis¬ 
tricts and Poorman Lode, Idaho; Emigrant 
and Alder Gulches, Red Bluff and near 
Jefferson River, Mont.; Josephine District, 
Powder, Burnt, and John Day Rivers, west¬ 
ern slope of Cascade Mountains, and 








50 UNDERGROUND TREASURES. 


southern coast, Oregon; Tulare, Fresno, 
Mariposa, Tuolumne, Calaveras, El Do¬ 
rado, Placer, Nevada, Yuba, Sierra, Butte, 
Plumas, Shasta, Siskiyou Amador and Del 
Norte Counties, Cal. Rare in the coal- 
regions and Mississippi Valley. 

34.—Graphite. 

Occurs in foliated, scaly and granular 
masses ; can be cut into thin slices, which 
are flexible, but not elastic ; impressible 
by the nail; feels greasy ; leaves a shining 
trace on paper; metallic lustre ; not al¬ 
tered by heat or acids ; gravity 2. 

Value. —Used for pencils, polishing, 
glazing, for making steel, crucibles, over¬ 
coming friction, etc. 

Localities. —Found in granite, slate 
and limestone rocks. Sturbridge, North 
Brookfield, Brimfield, Hinsdale and Worth¬ 
ington, Mass.; Cornwall and Ashford, 
Conn. ; Brandon, Vt. ; Woodstock, Me.; 
Goshen, Hillsboro and Keene, N. H. ; Ti- 
conderoga, Fishkill, Roger’s Rock, Johns- 
burg, Fort Ann, Amity, Rossie and Alex- 


CJ 









THE MINERALS TREATED. 


51 


andria, N. Y. ; Franklin and Lockwood, 
N. J. ; Southampton and Buck’s County, 
Penn.; on the Gunpowder, Md. ; Albe¬ 
marle County, Va.; Wake, N. C. ; Tiger 
River and Spartanburgh, S. C.; Sonora, 
Cal. (The soft black slate, often mistaken 
for Graphite , leaves a coaly trace on paper 
not a shining streak.) 

35. —Gray Copper Ore. 

Occurs in crystallized or granular 
masses; metallic lustre; color between 
steel-gray and iron-black; brittle; the 
powder dissolved in nitric acid makes a 
brownish green solution ; melts at a red 
heat; gravity 5. 

Value. —An ore of copper, (contain¬ 
ing thirty-three per cent.) and silver, of 
which Nevada specimens have sixteen per 
cent. 

Localities. —Found with gold, silver 
and lead. Kellogg Mines, Ark.; Mariposa 
and Shasta Counties, Cal.; Sheba and De 
Soto Mines, and near Austin, Nev.; Heint- 
zelman and Santa Rita Mines, Arizona. 

4 








52 UNDERGROUND TREASURES. 


36.—Gypsum. 

Occurs in plates, fibres coarse and fine, 
and massive; pearly or glistening; pow¬ 
der white, which if heated and mixed with 
water, turns hard; does not dissolve in 
sulphuric acid; may be scratched by the 
nail; gravity 2.3. 

Value. —Used for stucco, manure, glaz¬ 
ing, statuary, manufacture of glass, etc. 
A variety, called Satin Spar , worked into 
necklace beads and other ornaments, is 
finely fibrous and compact, taking a polish 
(though easily scratched,) and then resem¬ 
bles pearl or op: 1. 

Localities. —Found with marl or clay, 
limestone and salt. Camillus, Manlius, 
Stark and Loci port, N. Y.; on the St. 
Mary’s and Patuxent, Md. ; Washington 
County and Lynchburg, Va.; Charleston, 
S C. ; Poland, Ottawa and Canfield, O. ; 
Davidson and Summer Counties, Tenn.; 
Grand Rapids and Sagenaw Bay, Mich.; 
Des Moines River, Iowa; Walker Lake 
and Six Mile Canon, Nev.; Fort Dodge. 









THE MINERALS TREATED. 53 


37. —Horn Silver. 

Occurs in crystals, wax-like masses, or 
in crusts ; when scratched shows a shin¬ 
ing streak ; becomes brown on exposure ; 
quite soft, easily cut; a small piece placed 
on zinc and moistened, swells up, turns 
black and shows metallic silver on being 
pressed with a knife ; dissolves in harts¬ 
horn ; gravity 5.5. 

Value. —An ore of silver, yielding sev¬ 
enty per cent. 

Localities. —Found in slate with other 
silver ores. Lake Superior Mining Re¬ 
gion ; Austin and Comstock Lode, Nev.; 
Willow Springs and San Francisco dis¬ 
tricts, Eldorado Canon, Ariz.; Poorman 
Mine, Idaho. 

38. —Iron Pyrites. 

Occurs in masses and square crystals ; 
splendent lustre; color, bronze-yellow; 
brittle; strikes fire with steel; heated it 
gives off sulphur fumes; powder brownish; 
gravity 5. 


Value. —Affords sulphur, copperas and 











54 


UNDERGROUND TREASURES. 


alum. When found outside of the coal 
region, it often contains gold and silver. 

Localities. — Found in all kinds of 
rocks. Bingham, Corinna, Farmington, 
Waterville, Brooksville, Peru and Jewett’s 
Island, Me.; Shelburne, Unity and War¬ 
ren, N. H. ; Baltimore, Hartford and 
Shoreham, Vt.; Heath, Hubbardston and 
Hawley, Mass. ; Roxbury, Monroe, Or¬ 
ange, Milford, Middletown, Stafford, Col¬ 
chester, Ashford, Tolland and Union, 
Conn.; Rossie, Malone, Phillips, Johns- 
burgh, Canton, Chester, Warwick and 
Franklin, Putnam and Orange Counties, 
N. Y.; Chester, Knauertown, Cornwall 
and Pottstown, Pa.; Greensboro’, N. C.; 
Mercer County, Ky.; Bainbridge, O.; 
Galena at Marsden’s Diggings, Ill.; on 
Sugar Creek, Ind. ; mines of Colorado 
and California. 

39.—Jasper. 


Occurs in masses, either in veins or as 
rounded stones; dull lustre, yet takes a 
high polish ; breaks with a curved surface; 


















THE MINERALS TREATED. 


55 


not attacked by acids; is scratched by 
Rock Crystal; gravity 2.5. 

Value. —Used for mosaics and other 
ornaments when compact, fine-grained and 
bright color. 

Localities. —Found everywhere. Su¬ 
gar Loaf Mountain and Machiasport, Me.; 
Saugus, Mass.; Castleton and Colchester, 
Vt.; Bloomingrove, N. Y.; Murphy’s, 
Col.; Red Bluff, Mont. 

40.—Kaolin. 

Occurs in beds ; it is a fine, white clay, 
plastic when wet; when dry is scaly or 
compact; can be crumbled in the fingers 
and feels gritty ; adheres to the tongue; 
does not dissolve in acids. 

Value. —Used for the finest porcelain 
and for adulterating candy. 

Localities. — Found generally with 
iron-ore and fire-clay. Common on the 
eastern slope of the Alleghanies; Bran¬ 
ford, Vt.; Beekman, Athol, Johnsburgh 
and McIntyre, N. Y.; Perth Amboy, 
N. J.; Reading, Tamaqua and New Gar- 















56 UNDERGROUND TREASURES. 


den, Penn.; Mt. Savage, Md.; Richmond, 
Va.; Newcastle and Wilmington, Del.; 
Edgefield, S. C.; near Augusta, Ga. ; 
Jacksonville, Ala. 

41.—Lenticular Iron Ore. 

Occurs in beds or masses, consisting of 
minute flattened grains ; little lustre ; gen¬ 
erally soils the fingers ; breathed upon has 
a clayey odor; color, brownish-red, pow¬ 
der more red; dissolves in strong muri¬ 
atic acid with some effervescence ; brittle ; 
gravity 4. 

Value. —An ore of iron yielding thirty- 
three per cent. Generally mixed with 
other ores at the furnace. 

Localities. — Found in sandstone. 
Wayne, Madison, Oneida and Herkimer 
Counties, N. Y.; Marietta O. 

42.—Limonite, or Brown Hematite. 

Occurs in masses, with smooth rounded 
surfaces and fibrous structure ; sometimes 
as hollow nodules, which are velvety-black 
inside ; its powder when rubbed is yellow¬ 
ish-brown ; when strongly heated turns 










THE MINERALS TREATED. 


57 


black ; scratches glass feebly; brittle; 
dissolves in hot aqua-regia; gravity 4. 

Value. —A common ore of pig-iron, 
containing sixty per cent.; used also for 
polishing buttons, etc. 

Localities. — Found in heavy beds 
with mica-slate, quartz, limestone, etc. 
Salisbury and Kent, Conn.; Amenia, 
Fishkill, Dover and Beekman, N. Y.; 
Richmond and Lenox, Mass. ; Pittsfield, 
Putney, Bennington and Ripton, Vt. ; 
Hamburgh, N. J.; Pikeland and White 
Marsh, Penn.; Marquette, Mich. ; Mako- 
quata River, Iowa ; Iron Mountains, Stow 
and Green Counties, Mo.; Centerville, 
Ala.; near Raleigh and Smithfield, N. C. ; 
on Coal Creek, Col. ; and in coal areas 
generally. 

43.— Magnetic Iron Ore. 

Occurs in granular masses, coarse or 
fine; attracted by the magnet, or affect¬ 
ing the compass-needle ; powder black ; 
brittle ; dissolves in muriatic acid ; grav¬ 
ity 5. 








58 UNDERGROUND TREASURES. 


Value. —An important ore, yielding 
sixty-five per cent. 

Localities. —Found in granite, slate 
and limestone rocks. Warren, Essex, Clin¬ 
ton, Saratoga, Herkimer, Orange and Put¬ 
nam Counties, N. Y.; Raymond and Mar¬ 
shall’s Island, Me. ; Franconia, Jackson, 
Winchester, Lisbon, Swanzey and Unity, 
N. H.; Bridgewater, Chittenden, Marl¬ 
boro, Rochester, Troy and Bethel, Vt. ; 
Cambealon, R. I. ; Hawley and Bernard- 
ston, Mass.; Haddam, Conn.; Goshen, 
Webb’s Mine, Cornwall and White Marsh, 
Penn.; Hamburg, N. J. ; Scott’s Mills 
and Deer Creek, Md.; Mitchell and Mad¬ 
ison Counties, N. C.; Spartanburg, S. C.; 
Laclede and Crawford Counties, Mo.; 
Sierra County, (Gold Valley,) Plumas, 
Tulare, Mariposa, Placer and El Dorado 
Counties, Cal. 

44.—Magnetic Pyrites. 


Occurs massive; brittle; deep orange- 
yellow ; powder grayish-black; metallic 
lustre ; tarnishes easily; slightly attracts 














THE MINERALS TREATED. 


59 


the compass-needle; melts at a high heat, 
giving off sulphur-fumes ; gravity 4.5. 

Value. —Affords sulphur, copperas and 
nickel. 

Localities. —Found in granite regions, 
often with copper and iron ores. Stafford, 
Corinth and Shrewsbury, Vt.; Trumbull 
and Monroe, Conn.; Port Henry, Diana 
and Orange County, N. Y.; Hurdstown, 
N. J.; Gap Mine, Lancaster County, Pa.; 
Ducktown Mines, Tenn. 

45. —Malachite. 

Occurs in incrustations with smooth sur¬ 
face and fibrous ; powder paler green than 
the mineral; brittle ; by heat crackles and 
turns black; effervesces in acids; takes 
a fine polish, showing bands or rings; 
gravity 4. 

Value. —Used for jewelry and inlaid 
work. 

Localities. —Found in copper and lead 
mines. Cheshire, Conn.; Brunswick and 
Schuyler’s Mines, N. J.; Morgantown, 
Cornwall, near Nicholson’s Gap, Perkio- 









60 UNDERGROUND TREASURES. 


men and Phoenixville Lead Mines, Pa.; Pe- 
tapsco Mines, Md.; Davidson County 
N. C.; Polk County, Tenn. ; Left Hand 
River and Mineral Point, Wis.; Falls of 
St. Croix, Minn.; Jefferson County and 
Mine la Motte, Mo. ; Calaveras County, 
Cal.; Big Williams’ Fork, Ariz.; Wild Cat 
Canon and near Virginia City, Mont. 

46. —Manganese Spar. 

Occurs in masses ; glassy lustre; color 
flesh or rose-red ; becomes black on ex¬ 
posure ; tough ; melted with borax gives a 
violet-blue color; gravity 3.5. 

Value. —Used in glazing stone-ware. 

Localities. —Found in granite regions, 
often with iron-ore. Blue Hill Bay, Me.; 
Cummington, Warwick and Plainfield, 
Mass.; Irasburg and Coventry, Vt.; Win¬ 
chester, and Hinsdale, N. H.; Cumber¬ 
land, R. I. ; Franklin and Hamburg, N. J. 


47. —Marble. 


Occurs coarse and fine granular; fre¬ 
quently veined or mottled ; brittle ; can be 
cut with a knife; takes a polish ; efferves- 


G 









THE MINERALS TREATED. 61 


ces with acids; reduced to quicklime by 
heat; a gray variety contains stems and 
joints of worm-like fossils; gravity 2.5. 

Localities. —Brandon, Rutland, Dor¬ 
set, Shoreham, Pittsford, Middlebury, Fair- 
haven, Cavendish, Lowell, Troy and Sud¬ 
bury, Vt. ; West Stockbridge, Egremont, 
Great Barrington, Lanesboro, New Ash¬ 
ford, Sheffield, New Marlboro, Adams, 
Cheshire and Stoneham, Mass.; Ciinton, 
Essex, Dutchess, Onondaga, Putnam, St. 
Lawrence, Warren and Westchester, 
Counties, N. Y.; Smithfield, R. I.; New 
Haven, Milford, Conn.; near Philadelphia, 
N. J.; Texas and Hagerstown, Md.; Lan¬ 
caster County, Pa.; Jefferson and Gene¬ 
vieve Counties, Mo ; Knox and Sevier 
Counties, Tenn.; Joliet, Ill.; Cherokee 
and Macon Counties, N. C.; Marquette, 
Mich.; near Deep River and on the Mich- 
igamig and Menominee Rivers, Wis. 

48.— Mica. 

Occurs in masses, which can be split 
into very thin, elastic leaves; pearly lus- 









62 UNDERGROUND TREASURES. 


tre; at a high heat becomes opaque; 
gravity 3. 

Value. —Used for doors of stoves, etc. 

Localities. —Found in granite regions. 
Buckfield, Freeport and Oxford, Me. ; Ac- 
worth, Grafton and Alstead, N. H. ; Ches¬ 
terfield, Barre, Mendon, South Royalston, 
Brimfield, Goshen and Russell, Mass. ; 
Monroe, Haddam and Middletown, Conn.; 
Warwick, Edenville, Edwards, Monroe 
and Greenfield, N. Y. ; Pennsbury, Thorn- 
bury, Unionville, Middletown and Chest¬ 
nut Hill, Pa. ; Jones’ Falls, Md. 

49. —Micaceous Iron Ore. 

Resembles Specular Iron Ore , but con¬ 
sists of thin shining scales or leaves; 
powder dark red ; a thin flake is trans¬ 
lucent, showing red light; feels somewhat 
slippery. 

Value. —Used as an ore of iron and 
for polishing. 


Localities. — Hawley, Mass.; Pier- 
mont, N. H.; Ticonderoga, N. Y.; War¬ 
wick, Penn.; Loudon County, Va. 










THE MINERALS TREATED. 63 


50.—Nitre. 

Occurs in thin crusts, delicate needles, 
or disseminated through the loose earth 
in caves; glossy lustre; brittle; cool, 
saline taste ; crackles and burns brightly 
on live coals ; a little harder than Gypsum. 

Value. —Used in the manufacture of 
gunpowder, fulminating powders, nitric 
acid, etc. 

Localities. — Marion County, Ky.; 
White County, Tenn. ; near Rosiclare, 
Ill.; Silver Peak, Nev. 

51.—Oxyd of Manganese. 

Occurs in masses and little columns, 
often with small rounded surfaces ; one 
ore is soft enough to be impressed by the 
nail, and soils ; the other will scratch glass 
faintly ; heated with borax, makes a violet 
glass ; dissolves in hot muriatic acid, giv¬ 
ing forth a yellowish-green gas ; gravity 
4 to 5. 

Value.—U sed for bleaching and for 
obtaining oxygen. 

Localities. —Found in granite regions, 








64 UNDERGROUND TREASURES. 


often with iron-ore. Brandon, Benning¬ 
ton, Monkton, Irasburg and Chittenden, 
Vt.; Hillsdale, Westmoreland and West¬ 
chester, N. H.; Plainfield, West Stock- 
bridge and Conway, Mass.; Salisbury and 
Kent, Conn.; Montgomery County, Md.; 
Lake Superior Mining Region ; Dubuque, 
Iowa; Deep Diggings, Mo.; Red Island, 
Cal.; Martinsburg, N. Y. 

52.—Platinum. 

Occurs in grains or lumps ; metallic, 
silvery lustre; can be hammered out; 
heavier and harder than silver; not dis¬ 
solved in nitric acid; gravity 17. 

Value. —Nearly equal to Gold. Used 
for making chemical and philosophical ap¬ 
paratus, for coating copper, brass, etc. 

Localities. — Found in river-gravel 
with Gold. Rutherford County, N. C.; 
Klamath region, Cape Bflanco, on Salmon 
River, South Fork of Trinity, Butte, Hon- 
cut, Canon and Wood’s Creeks, and on 
Middle Fork of American River, Cal.; 
at Gold Flat, Nev. 






0 


THE MINERALS TREATED. 


65 


53.—Red Copper Ore. 

Occurs in crystals and masses; cochi¬ 
neal-red ; powder brownish-red; nearly 
opaque ; brittle ; dissolves in nitric acid ; 
heated on charcoal yields a globule of 
copper; gravity 6. 

Value. — Affords copper, (sixty per 
cent.,) and blue vitriol. 

Localities. —Found in trap regions 
with other copper ores. Schuyler’s, Som¬ 
erville, New Brunswick and Flemington 
Mines, N. J.; Cornwall, Pa.; Ladenton, 
N. Y. ; Lake Superior Region. Not 
abundant. 

54.—Red Hematite. 

Occurs in compact masses, with round¬ 
ed surfaces or kidney-shaped; fibrous 
structure; color brownish-red to iron- 
black ; but powder invariably red; when 
black, the lustre is somewhat metallic, 
otherwise dull; brittle; scratches glass 
with difficulty; dissolves slowly in strong 
muriatic acid ; gravity 4.5 to 5. 


Value. —An ore of iron, yielding from 












66 UNDERGROUND TREASURES. 


thirty-six to fifty per cent. In powder, 
used as pigment and for polishing metals. 

Localities. —Found usuallyin beds with 
granite or limestone. Aroostook County 
and Hodgdon, Me.; Antwerp, Ticonder- 
oga, Crown Point and Gouverneur, N. Y.; 
Vernon, N. J. ; West Whiteland, Pa. ; 
Chatham and Orange Counties, N. C.; 
Marquette, Mich ; Shasta County, Cal. 
This mineral graduates into a soft, earthy 
variety, called red ochre , and into a com¬ 
pact, slaty variety, called red chalk , which 
has a clayey odor when breathed on. 

55.—Red Silver Ore. 

Occurs in crystals and masses; metal¬ 
lic lustre ; brittle ; powder cochineal-red ; 
easily cut; at a high heat yields a silver 
globule; the powder heated with potash 
turns black ; gravity 6. 

Value. —An ore of silver yielding 
sixty per cent. 

Localities. —Found at gold and silver 
mines. Washoe and Austin, Nev.; Poor- 
man Lode, Idaho. 












56. —Rensselaerite. 

Occurs in masses; wax-like; a trifle 
harder than marble ; when fresh can be 
scratched by the nail; soapy feel; takes 
a polish ; cleavable ; gravity 2.8. 

Value. —Used as a marble and worked 
into inkstands, etc. 

Localities. —Found with steatite , ser¬ 
pentine , limestone, etc. Antwerp, Canton, 
Fowler, De Kalb, Edwards, Russell and 
Gouverneur, N. Y. 

57. —Rock Crystal. 

Occurs in crystals and masses; trans¬ 
parent ; glassy lustre ; colorless ; tough ; 
brittle ; not acted upon by acids or heat; 
electric by friction ; gravity 2.5.. 

Value. —Cut for ornaments, lenses, etc. 

Localities. —Common in sandstone, 
limestone and iron ore. Paris, Me.; Ben¬ 
ton and Bartlett, N. H.; Sharon and 
Woodstock, Vt.; Pelham and Chester¬ 
field, Mass.; Ellenville, Little Falls, Wa- 
tervliet, Fairfield, Middleville, Fowler, 
Antwerp, Rossie, Lake George and Pal- 











68 UNDERGROUND TREASURES. 


atine, N. Y.; Minnesota Mine, Lake Su¬ 
perior ; Ouachita Spring, Ark. 

58. —Rock Salt. 

Occurs in irregular beds or masses ; brit¬ 
tle ; saline taste; crackles in the fire. 

Localities. —Found with gypsinn, clay 
and sandstone. Washington County, Va.; 

Petit Anse, La.; Silver Peak, Nev.; Sal 
mon River Mountains, Oregon. 

59. —Rutile. 

Occurs in crystals generally; metallic 
lustre ; powder pale brown ; brittle; un¬ 
changed by heat or acids; if powdered 
and fused with potash, then dissolved in 
muriatic acid, the solution boiled with tin- 
foil assumes a beautiful violet color; grav¬ 
ity 4. 

Value. —Used for coloring porcelain 
and artificial teeth. 

Localities. —Found in granite and 
limestone rocks. Warren, Me.; Merri¬ 
mack, and Warren, N. H.; Bristol, Put¬ 
ney and Waterbury, Vt.; Windsor, Shel¬ 
burne, Barre, Conway and Leyden, Mass.; 

& . ^ . - & 











THE MINERALS TREATED. 


69 


Monroe, Conn.; Warwick, Edenville, Am¬ 
ity and Kingsbridge, N. Y.; Sudsbury, 
West Bradford, Parksburg, Concord and 
Newlin, Pa.; Newton, N.J.; Crowder’s and 
Clubb Mountains, N. C.; Habersham and 
Lincoln Counties, Ga.; Magnet Cave, Ark. 

60.—Serpentine. 

Occurs in masses; feeble, resinous lus¬ 
tre ; color oily green; powder whitish; 
often yellowish gray on the outside; can 
be cut easily; takes a fine polish ; becomes 
reddish by heat; gravity 2.5—same as 
Marble . 

Value. —Worked into mantels, jambs, 
table-tops, and many other ornaments 

Localities. —Found as a rock in large 
masses. Deer Isle, Me.; Baltimore, Cav¬ 
endish, Jay and Troy, Vt.; Newbury, 
Blanford, Middlefield and Westfield, Mass.; 
Newport, R. I.; near New Haven and 
Milford, Conn.; Port Henry, Antwerp, 
Syracuse, Warwick, Phillipstown, Can¬ 
ton, Gouverneur, Johnsburg, Davenport’s 
Neck, New Rochelle and Rye, N. Y.; 









yO UNDERGROUND TREASURES. 


Frankford, Hoboken and Montville, N. J.; 
Texas, Fa.; Cooptown, Md.; Patterson, 
N. C.; Calaveras County, Cal.; Alder 
Gulch, Mont. Marble veined with serpen¬ 
tine is called verd-antique. 

61.—Silicate of Copper. • 

Occurs in incrustations and masses; 
color bluish-green; not fibrous; surface 
smooth; easily cut; does not effervesce 
in acid; blackens by heat; gravity 2. 

Value. —An ore of copper, yielding 
thirty per cent. 

Localities. —Found with other copper 
ores. Somerville and Schuyler’s, N. J.; 
Morgantown and Cornwall, Pa.; Wolcott- 
ville, Conn.; Big Williams’ Fork, Ariz. 

62.—Silver. 

Occurs in masses, or strings and threads 
penetrating rocks and native copper and 
galena; metallic lustre ; tarnishes grayish 
black ; can be cut in slices and hammered 
out; dissolved in muriatic acid, it turns 
black on exposure; gravity 10 


Localities.— Chiefly found with cop- 









THE MINERALS TREATED. 


7 1 


per near trap-rocks, and in fine grained 
galena and dark brown blende. Gold 
contains from one to fifteen per cent. 
Bridgewater, N. J.; Davidson and Stanley 
Counties, N. C.; Lake Superior Region ; 
Poorman’s Lode, Idaho; Comstock Lode 
and Montezuma Ledge, Nev.; Alpine 
County and Maris Vein, Cal.; Clear 
Creek County, Col. 

63.—Silver Glance. 

Occurs in small lumps, plates and 
threads ; color dark gray; cuts like lead; 
melts in a candle giving off sulphur fumes; 
gravity 7. 

Value. —The most important ore of sil¬ 
ver, containing eighty-seven per cent. 

Localities. —May be found almost 
everywhere, except in the coal regions; 
associated with other ores, quartz, lime¬ 
stone, baryta, etc. Most abundant where 
mineral veins cross one another. Com¬ 
stock Lode, Gold Hill, Reese River, Cortez 
District and Silver-Sprout Vein, Nev.; 
Clear Creek County, Nev. 









72 UNDERGROUND TREASURES. 


64. —Smaltine. 

Occurs in crystals and masses ; metallic 
lustre ; color tin-white to steel-gray ; pow¬ 
der dark gray; brittle; gives off garlic 
odor in a candle; melted with borax makes 
a deep blue glass; gravity 6.5 to 7. 

Value. —An ore of cobalt and arsenic, 
containing eighteen to seventy per cent. 

Localities. —Found in veins in granite 
regions with other ores, Mine la Motte, 
Mo.; Chatham, Conn. 

65 .—Smithsonite. 

Occurs in masses, often rounded, cov¬ 
ered with minute crystals, or honey¬ 
combed ; color white, dirty yellow or stone 
color ; glassy lustre ; brittle ; effervesces 
in nitric acid; barely scratches glass; 
barely translucent; gravity 4.4. 

Value. —Yields fifty per cent, of zinc. 

Localities. —Found generally in lime¬ 
stone with galena and blende. Frieden- 
ville, Lancaster and Perkiomen, Pa.; Lin¬ 
den and Mineral Points, Wis.; Lawrence, 
County, Ark.; Ewing’s Diggings, Minn. 









THE MINERALS TREATED. 73 




66.—Spathic Iron. 

Occurs in crystals or plates somewhat 
curving; also (in coal regions) in nodules 
with concentric layers like an onion; brit¬ 
tle ; color varies from white to yellowish- 
brown or dark-brown; strongly heated it 
blackens and will then attract the compass 
needle; the powder effervesces in nitric 
acid ; melted with borax makes a green or 
yellow glass ; gravity 3.8. 

Value. —Yields thirty per cent, of iron, 
well adapted for steel. 

Localities. —Found in granite and 
coal-formations, often with other ores. 
Plymouth, Vt.; Sterling, Mass.; Roxbury, 
Conn.; Antwerp, Herman and Rossie, 
N. Y.; Fentress and Harlem Mines, N. C.; 
Coal Regions of Western Pa, Virginia, 
Eastern Ohio, etc. 

67.— Specular Iron Ore. 

Occurs crystallized and in large masses , 
high metallic lustre ; color steel-gray or 
iron-black; brittle ; opaque except when 
very thin ; the powder when very fine and 









74 UNDERGROUND TREASURES. 


rubbed on white paper shows red; the 
powder dissolves slowly in muriatic acid; 
by a strong heat yields a black mass which 
attracts the needle ; gravity 5. 

Value. —Yields from fifty to seventy 
per cent, of iron. 

Localities. —Found in granite regions. 
Marquette, Mich.; Pilot Knob and Iron 
Mountains, Mo.; St. Lawrence County, 
N. Y.; Bartlett, Lisbon and PYanconia, 
N. PL; Chittenden and Weathersfield, Vt,; 
Sauk County, Wis. 

. 68.—Spinel Ruby. 

Occurs in pyramidal crystals ; glassy 
lustre.; powder white ; scratches rock- 
crystal; by heat becomes black; gravity 
3 5 - 

Value. — A gem ; clear specimens 
weighing over four carats, are valued at 
half the price of the dicimojid. 

Localities. —Found in granular lime¬ 
stone and clay. Amity and Gouverneur, 
N. Y.; Franklin and Byram, N. J.; Bol¬ 
ton and Boxborough, Mass. 










THE MINERALS TREATED. 


75 


69.—Steatite. 

Occurs in masses, consisting of minute 
pearly scales or grains ; can be marked by 
the nail; hardens by heat; soapy feel; 
gravity 2.5. 

Value. —Used for fire-stones, tubes, in 
manufacture of porcelain, etc. 

Localities. —Found in beds with lime¬ 
stone, serpentine and slate. Orrs Island, 
Me.; Francestown, Keene, Orford and 
Pelham, N. H.; Athens, Cavendish, Marl¬ 
boro, Moreton, New Fane, Bradboro, 
Troy, Waterville, Westfield, Weathersfield 
and Windham, Vt.; Middlefield, Lenox 
and Westfield, Mass.; Manayunk and 
Chestnut Hill, Pa.; Albemarle and Lou¬ 
don Counties, Va.; Staten Island and St. 
Lawrence County, N. Y.; Bare Hills, Md. 

70.— Strontianite. 

Occurs in crystals and in fibrous or 
granular masses ; glassy lustre; brittle ; 
thin pieces melt before a blow-pipe tinging 
the flame red; effervesces with acids; 
gravity 3.6. 














76 UNDERGROUND TREASURES. 


Value. —A source of nitrate of stron- 
tia used in fire-works. 

Localities. — Found in limestone. 
Schoharie, Muscalonge Lake, Chaumont 
Bay and Theresa, N. Y. 

71. —Sulphur. 

Occurs in crystals, masses and crusts; 
brittle; can be easily cut; burns with a 
blue flame and sulphur odor; gravity 2. 

Localities. —Found in limestone and 
gypsum, and around geysers and sulphur 
springs. Springport, N. Y.; on the Po¬ 
tomac, twenty-five miles above Washing¬ 
ton ; Put-in-Bay Island, Lake Erie; Clear 
Lake, Cal.; Santa Barbara County, Col.; 
Humboldt County, Nev. 

72. —Tin Ore. 

Occurs in crystals, grains and masses ; 
high lustre ; powder gray or brownish ; 
brittle; will strike fire with steel; unal¬ 
tered by heat or acids; gravity 7,—being 
nearly as heavy as lead-ore. 


Value. —The only ore of tin, containing 
seventy-nine per cent. No gold-mine ever 












THE MINERALS TREATED. 


77 


paid such profits as the tin mines of Corn¬ 
wall. 

Localities. —Jackson, N. H.; Temes- 
cal, Cal.; Boonville, Idaho; near Fred- 
ericktown, Mo. 

73.— Topaz. 

Occurs in crystals ; glassy lustre ; brit¬ 
tle ; scratches rock-crystal; not acted up¬ 
on by ordinary heat or acids ; gravity 3.5. 

Value.— A gem; the most esteemed 
are the rose-red and white. 

Localities. —Found in granite. Trum¬ 
bull, Willimantic and Middletown, Conn.; 
Crowder’s Mountain, N. C.; Thomas’s 
Mountains, Utah. 

74.— Tourmaline. 

Occurs in crystals, usually in long, slen¬ 
der three-sided prisms which break easily , 
glassy lustre ; brittle ; becomes milk-white 
by heat; scratches rock-crystal and gar¬ 
net; gravity 3. 

Value. —Used for jewelry. 


Localities. —Found in granite rocks. 
Paris, Albany and Hebron, Me.; Chester- 










J8 UNDERGROUND TREASURES. 


field and Goshen, Mass.; Newlin and 
Marple, Pa. 

75. —Variegated Copper Ore. 

Occurs in crystals and masses ; metal¬ 
lic lustre; quickly tarnishes; color be¬ 
tween copper-red and light-brown ; pow¬ 
der pale grayish-black ; dissolves in nitric 
acid; at a high heat melts to a copper 
globule; heated on charcoal gives off 
fumes of sulphur ; gravity 5. 

Value. —An important ore of copper 
yielding sixty per cent. 

Localities. —Found in granite, free¬ 
stone, etc., with other ores. Bristol and 
Cheshire, Conn.; Mahoopeny, Pa.; Cop- 
oer Mines of N. J. 

76.— Wad. 

Occurs in masses; earthy and loose; 
can be broken by the fingers, and soils; 
no lustre ; melted with borax makes a vio¬ 
let glass ; feels very light. 

Value —Used in bleaching and for 
making smalt. 












THE MINERALS TREATED. 


79 


Localities. —Found in low places, gen¬ 
erally in the vicinity of slate or iron ore 
beds. Warren, Vt.; Blue Hill, Hodgdon 
and Thomaston, Me.; Columbia and 
Duchess Counties, Austerlitz, Canaan 
Centre and Martinsburg, N. Y.; East 
Bradford and White Marsh, Pa.; Mine la 
Motte, Mo. 

77.—Willemite. 

Occurs in crystals and masses; feeble 
lustre; brittle; can hardly be cut with a 
knife ; sometimes scratches glass ; makes 
a jelly in muriatic acid; gravity 4. 

Value. —Contains seventy per cent, of 
zinc. 

Localities. —Found in limestone with 
zincite. Franklin and Sterling, N. J. 

78.—Zincite. 

Occurs in foliated masses or grains, 
powder orange-yellow ; brittle ; dissolves 
in acids without effervescence; gravity 
5 - 5 - 

Value. —Yields seventy-five per cent, 
of zinc. 








8o 


UNDERGROUND TREASURES. 


Localities. —Found in limestone with 
Frank Unite, Garnet , etc. Sterling Hill 
and Mine Hill, N. J. 
















CHAPTER IV. 


PROSPECTING FOR DIAMONDS, GOLD, SIL¬ 
VER, COPPER, LEAD AND IRON. 


MINERAL RICHES, HOW DISCOVERED—INDICATIONS— 
C EARCHING FOR DIAMONDS, AND HOW TO DISTIN¬ 
GUISH THEM—PAYING LOCALITIES OF GOLD—“ FOOL’S 
GOLD”—PROSPECTING FOR SILVER AND COPPER— 
WHERE TO LOOK FOR LEAD AND IRON. 



HE mineral riches of a country 
are frequently discovered by at¬ 
tentively observing the fragments 
brought down by the action of 
water from the hills into the valleys ; and 
on tracing these to their several sources, 
the veins from which they were originally 
detached, are in many instances found. 
Water also acts in another way a very im¬ 
portant part in the discovery of mineral 
veins, as by closely examining the faces 
of the different gullies and ravines, which 
intersect a country, a ready means is af¬ 
forded of ascertaining whether its strata 


















o 


o 


82 


UNDERGROUND TREASURES. 


are traversed by metalliferous deposits ; 
and, therefore, in exploring with a view to 
its mineral productions, no opportunity 
should be lost of observing the various 
sections thus naturally laid bare. 

When fragments of an ore are found on 
a hill-side, it is very evident that the vein 
must lie higher up. If the vein is hori¬ 
zontal and the fragments are found on the 
top of the hill, there is no probability of 
finding much if any of the vein, for gener¬ 
ally it has been washed away. Ore-veins, 
however, are almost always nearly verti¬ 
cal ; so that boring is of little use, as it 
might pass by the richest vein, or, striking 
it lengthwise, give a too favorable result. 

As heavy minerals do not drift far, 
metals are always found near their source. 

Horizontal beds can be worked at the 
least cost. 

Pockets and nodules, or any detached 
masses of minerals, are soon exhausted. 
Veins, lodes and beds are most valu¬ 
able. 














SEARCHING FOR DIAMONDS, 


83 


Boring a three-inch hole, which costs 
about $ 1 a foot, is a good method of test¬ 
ing a mineral vein or bed which lies more 
or less horizontally. A shaft may be sunk 
in sandstone for from $6 to $3 per cubic 
yard; in slate and gravel, at from $2 
to $1. 

The existence of mineral springs, and 
the rapid melting of the snow in any local¬ 
ity, are no indications of ores. 

Searching for Diamonds. — Few 
things are so unpromising and unattrac¬ 
tive as gems in their native state. Hence 
their slow discovery. There is little doubt 
that diamonds exist in many places as yet 
unknown, or where their presence is un¬ 
suspected. It is very difficult for the un¬ 
practiced eye to distinguish them from 
crystals of quartz or topaz. The color 
constitutes the main difficulty in detecting 
their presence. They are of various shades 
of yellowish brown, green, blue and rose- 
red, and thus closely resemble the com¬ 
mon gravel by which they are surrounded. 



6 


■TcJX) 









8 4 


UNDERGROUND TREASURES. 


Often they are not unlike a lump of gum 
arabic, neither brilliant nor transparent. 
The finest, however, are colorless, and ap¬ 
pear like rock-crystals. 

In Brazil, where great numbers of dia¬ 
monds, chiefly of small size, have been 
discovered, the method of searching for 
them is to wash the sand of certain rivers in 
a manner precisely similar to that em¬ 
ployed in the gold fields, namely, by pros¬ 
pecting pans. A shovelful of earth is 
thrown into the pan, which is then im¬ 
mersed in water, and. gently moved about. 
As the washing goes on, the pebbles, dirt 
and sand are removed, and the pan then 
contains about a pint of thin mud. Great 
caution is now observed, and ultimately 
there remains only a small quantity of 
sand. The diamonds and particles of gold, 
if present, sink to the bottom, being heav¬ 
ier, and are selected and removed by the 
practiced fingers of the operator. But how 
shall the gems be detected by one who has 
had no experience, and who in a jew- 
















DETECTING DIAMONDS. 


85 


eler’s shop could not separate them from 
quartz or French paste? The difficulty 
can only be overcome by testing such 
stones as may be suspected to be precious. 
Let these be tried by the very sure op¬ 
eration of attempting to cut with their 
sharp corners -glass, crystal or quartz. 
When too minute to be held between the 
finger and thumb, the specimens may be 
pressed into the end of a stick of hard 
wood and run along the surface of window 
glass. A diamond will make its mark, and 
cause, too, a ready fracture in the line over 
which it has traveled. It will also easily 
scratch rock-crystal, as no other crystal 
will. 

But a more certain and peculiar charac¬ 
teristic of the diamond lies in the form of 
its crystals. The ruby and topaz will 
scratch quartz, but no mineral which will 
scratch quartz has the curved edges of the 
diamond. In small crystals this peculiar¬ 
ity can be seen only by means of a magni¬ 
fying glass ; but it is invariably present. 








UNDERGROUND TREASURES. 



86 


Interrupted, convex or rounded angles, are 
sure indications of genuineness. Quartz 
crystal is surrounded by six faces ; the 
diamond by four. The diamond breaks 
with difficulty; and hence a test some¬ 
times used is to place the specimen be¬ 
tween two hard bodies, as a couple of coins, 
and force them together with the hands. 
Such a pressure will crush a particle of 
quartz, but the diamond will only indent 
the metal. 

The value of the diamond is estimated 
by the carat, which is equal to about four 
grains, and the value increases rapidly 
with its weight. If a small, rough dia¬ 
mond weigh four grains, its value is about 
$10 ; if eight grains, $40; if sixteen grains, 
$640. A cut diamond of one carat is 
worth from $50 to $100. 

The imperfections of the diamond, and, 
in fact, of all cut gems, are made visible 
by putting them into oil of cassia, when 
the slightest flaw will be seen. 









3 



VALUATION OF DIAMONDS. 87 


A diamond weighing ten carats is 
“ princely ; ” but not one in ten thousand 
weighs so much. 

If a rough diamond resemble a drop of 
clear spring water, in the middle of which 
you perceive a strong light; or if it has a 
rough coat, so that you can hardly see 
through it, but white, and as if made rough 
by art, yet clear of flaws or veins; or, if 
the coat be smooth and bright, with a tinct¬ 
ure of green in it,—it is a good stone. If 
it has a milky cast, or a yellowish-green 
coat, beware of it. Rough diamonds with 
a greenish crust are the most limpid when 
cut. 

Diamonds are found in loose pebbly 
earth, along with gold, a little way below 
the surface, towards the lower outlet of 
broad valleys, rather than upon the ridges 
of the adjoining hills. 

Searching for Gold.— The paying lo¬ 
calities of gold deposits are the slopes of 
the Rocky and Alleghany Mountains. 
Gold need not be looked for in the anthra- 








88 


UNDERGROUND TREASURES. 


cite and bituminous coal-fields nor in lime¬ 
stone rock. It is seldom found in the beds 
of rivers. The thing itself is the surest 
indication of its existence. If soil or sand 
is “washed” as described in Chapter V., 
and the particles of gold are not heavy 
enough to remain at the bottom but float 
away, the bed will not pay. 

Along streams rather high up among 
the mountains, and in the gravelly drift 
covering the slopes of the valley below, are 
the best prospects. Where the stream 
meets an obstacle in its path or makes a 
bend or has deep holes, there we may look 
for “ pockets ” of gold. Black or red sands 
are usually richest. Gold-bearing rock is 
a slate or granite abounding in rusty look¬ 
ing quartz veins, the latter containing iron 
pyrites or cavities. Almost all iron py¬ 
rites and silver ores, may be worked for 
gold. When the quartz veins are thin and 
numerous rather than massive, and lie near 
the surface, they are considered most 
profitable. Few veins can be worked with 










SEARCHING FOR SILVER. 


89 


profit very far down. As traces of gold 
may be found almost everywhere, no one 
should indulge in speculation before calcu¬ 
lating the percentage and the cost of ex¬ 
traction. Gold-hunting, after all, is a lot¬ 
tery with more blanks than prizes. 

The substances most frequently mis¬ 
taken for gold are iron pyrites , copper py¬ 
rites and mica. The precious metal is 
easily distinguished from these by its mal¬ 
leability (flattening under the hammer) 
and its great weight, sinking rapidly in 
water. 

Searching for Silver. —This metal is 
usually found with lead ore and native 
copper. Slates and sandstones intersected 
by igneous rocks as trap and porphyry, 
are good localities. Pure silver is often 
found in or near iron ores and the dark 
brown zinc blende. The Colorado silver 
lodes are porous at the surface and colored 
more or less red or green. Any rock 
suspected of containing silver should be 
powdered and dissolved in nitric acid. 












90 


UNDERGROUND TREASURES. 


Pour off the liquid and add to it a solu¬ 
tion of salt. If a white powder falls to 
the bottom which upon exposure turns 
black, there is silver in it. Silver mines 
increase in value as in depth, whereas gold 
diminishes as we descend. 

Searching for Copper. —The copper 
ores, after exposure, or after being dipped 
in vinegar, are almost invariably green on 
the surface. They are most abundant 
near trap dykes. The pyrites is generally 
found in lead mines, and in granite and 
clay-slate. Copper very rarely occurs in 
the new formations, as along the Atlantic 
and Gulf borders, and in the Mississippi 
Valley south of Cairo. 

Searching for Lead.— Lead is seldom 
discovered in the surface soil. It is also 
in vain to look for it in the coal region and 
along the coast. It must be sought in 
steep hills, in limestone and slate rocks. 
A surface cut by frequent ravines or cov¬ 
ered by vegetation in lines, indicates min¬ 
eral crevices. The galena from the slate 












SEARCHING FOR IRON. 


91 


is said to contain more silver than that 
from 4 he limestone. The purest speci¬ 
mens of galena are poorest in silver; the 
small veins are richest in the more pre¬ 
cious metal. A lead vein is thickest in 
limestone, thinner in sandstone and thin¬ 
nest in slate. 

Searching for Iron. —Any heavy min¬ 
eral of a black, brown, red or yellow color 
may be suspected to be iron. To prove 
it, dissolve some in oil of vitriol and pour 
in an infusion of nut-gall or oak-bark ; if 
it turns black, iron is present. If a ton of 
rich magnetic ore costs more than $4 at 
the furnace, good hematite more than $3, 
and poor ores more than $1.50 or $2, they 
are too expensive to pay, unless iron is 
unusually high. Deep mining for iron is 
not profitable. Generally speaking, a bed 
of good iron ore, a foot thick, will repay 
the cost of stripping it of soil, etc., twelve 
feet thick. Red and yellow earths, called 
ochres, contain iron. Magnetic ore is 
easily found by a compass 









CHAPTER V. 


ASSAY OF ORES. 


WHEN AN ORE WILL PAY—WASHING FOR GOLD AND 
PLATINUM—HOW TO ASSAY GOLD IN THE SIMPLEST 
WAY—TO TEST ANY ROCK FOR GOLD AND SILVER 
—TO FIND THE PURITY OF GOLD—TO DETECT AND 
ASSAY SILVER ORES—ASSAY OF COPPER, IRON, ZINC, 
TIN AND LEAD ORES—READY METHOD OF TESTING 
GRAPHITE. 

NE of the first questions asked 
after the discovery of a metallic 
ore, is—“will it pay?” We pro¬ 
pose to state in plain words a 
method of determining the character and 
value of the principal ores, so that any in¬ 
telligent man, however unscientific, may 
answer his own question. The chemical 
analysis or exact assaying of ores is too 
complicated, and must be left to profes¬ 
sional assayers. 


“Will it pay?” is an important query; 
for many ores of even precious metals, are 


















PAYING ORES. 93 


not “paying.” Whether an ore is profit¬ 
able depends not so much upon the rela¬ 
tive value of the metal as upon the ease 
of separating it from the rock or “gangue” 
as it is called. Thus the minimum per¬ 
centage of metal, below which the working 
of the ore ceases to be profitable is— 


Of Iron, 

. . 25 per cent. 

Zinc, . 

20 “ 

Lead, 

. . 20 “ 

Antimony, . 

20 “ 

Copper, . 

. . 02 “ 

Tin, 

oii “ 

Quicksilver, 

. 01 “ 

Silver, . 

* tA o' “ 

Platinum, 

♦ • To omr “ 

Gold, . 

_L_ (( 

* 1 0 0 0 0 0 

That is, an ore 

of iron which contains 

less than 25 per 

cent, of metal will not 

pay for working; 

for the reduction of iron 

in comparison with copper ore is very dif- 


ficult. Gold is very easily extracted, and 
hence some quartz rocks which do not ap¬ 
parently contain a particle of gold, pay 











94 UNDERGROUND TREASURES. 


well, a bushel of rock often yielding half 
an ounce. 

Iron occurs in large masses or beds ; 
but the other metals are scattered in 
fragments through sand or soil, or exist in 
veins running through rocks. 

Washing for Gold and Platinum.— 
This operation, called “panning,” is the 
oldest and simplest method of extracting 
the precious metals. At the present time, 
it furnishes to Russia nearly all the gold 
produced in that empire. It is based on 
the principle that substances of different 
weights may be separated by means of 
water,—the heaviest going to the bottom 
first. To examine the bank or bed of a 
river, suspected to contain gold, fill a milk- 
pan with the sands and carry it to a tub or 
pool of quiet water. Dip it under, stirring 
the mass with one hand or a stick. Then 
pour off the muddy water, fill with fresh 
water stirring again, and again pour off the 
light sand, clay, etc. Scales of gold will 
sink fast; mica flakes will take their time. 











WASHING FOR GOLD. 95 


Repeat this process till all the fine parti¬ 
cles are washed off; then allow just enough 
water to enter the pan as will cover the 
sand. By shaking the pan and gradually 
lowering the side by which it is held, the 
light sand will flow off, leaving in the cor¬ 
ner a heap of coarse sand. Put in a small 
quantity of water and turn the pan around 
so as to create a gentle current, when the 
precious metal, if there be any, can be 
easily detected, — the gold by its bright 
lustre, the platinum by its lead color, and 
both by their malleability. Particles of 
gold are of uniform color and are either 
flat or rounded ; while other yellow grains 
are angular. Holding the pan in the sun¬ 
shine, secure any glittering glassy crystals, 
and test them for diamonds or rock-crys¬ 
tals. A magnet will remove any particles 
of magnetic iron-ore. 

Assay of Gold Ore. —Gold may be 
found in quartz rock, in iron and copper 
pyrites, and in silver ores. 


To ascertain if any gold is present in 









g 6 UNDERGROUND TREASURES. 


quartz, reduce the rock to powder and sift 
it. A certain quantity, say half a peck, is 
then washed as above described, till a man¬ 
ageable quantity of sand is left. If there 
is any show of gold, dry the mass and put 
it in a bowl or glass dish, and add an ounce 
of quicksilver, stirring the mixture well 
with a wooden rod. The quicksilver, which 
will unite with every particle of gold which 
may be there, is then poured off into a soft 
leather (chamois) bag. This is squeezed 
to remove superfluous quicksilver, and a 
pasty amalgam is left, which is put into an 
iron vessel and heated red hot. The yel¬ 
low powder remaining is mixed with salt¬ 
petre and melted, when a button of pure 
gold will be found in the crucible. Quartz 
ores should yield $6 to the ton in order to 
pay. 

To test pyrites for gold, reduce a given 
quantity to powder and wash as before; 
then roast the residue at a red heat. Upon 
cooling, add quicksilver and treat as just 














TESTING FOR GOLD. 


97 


described. Pyrites should yield $i of gold 
to the bushel of ore to be profitable. 

Native silver often contains gold. To 
separate them, carefully flatten the alloy 
with a smooth hammer on an anvil, and 
then boil it in strong nitric acid in a glass 
flask for about ten minutes. Carefully 
pour off the acid into a vial, and wash the 
powder in the flask (which is fine gold) 
with water and dry. To the liquid in the 
vial add a solution of common salt. The 
white powder which falls should be re¬ 
moved, washed with water, and fused with 
powdered chalk or iron filings ; a button 
of pure silver is the result. 

Any substance supposed to be or to con¬ 
tain gold may be tested by dissolving it 
powdered in aqua regia and then pouring 
in a solution of copperas ; if there is gold, 
the reddish-brown precipitate, by rubbing, 
assumes a bright metallic lustre. 

To tell whether a globule of silver has 
any gold in it, put it on a white porcelain 
dish and moisten it with a drop of nitric 








o 


98 UNDERGROUND TREASURES. 


acid: if it is pure silver, it will dissolve 
and retain its white color; if mixed with 
gold, it will soon turn gray or black. 

To test the purity of gold, rub some of 
it off on a hard black flint slate, and apply 
to the mark a drop of aqua fortis. If 
the gold is pure, the yellow streak re¬ 
mains unchanged, but if alloyed it partly 
disappears ; if it is only an imitation of 
gold, it vanishes altogether. 

A ready method of finding the amount 
of gold in a quartz rock with considerable 
accuracy, is by taking the specific gravity 
of the rock (well cleaned) as given on page 
13. If the gravity is not over 2.7, it con¬ 
tains little or no gold. If it is 3, it very 
likely is gold-bearing, although pyrites 
may be present. But if it is over 5, it is 
undoubtedly auriferous, and if 12, it is 
very rich in gold. 

It is generally considered that the sand 
of any river is worth working for the 
gold it contains, provided it will yield 
twenty-four grains to the hundred weight. 









TESTING FOR SILVER. 99 


Assay of Silver Ore. —Pure silver is 
easily recognized. But lead and copper 
ores often contain a large percentage of 
the precious metal. 

To detect silver in lead ore, dissolve the 
powdered ore in strong nitric acid ; pour 
off the liquid and insert a piece of pure 
copper. If silver is present, it will go to 
the bottom. Or, add to the liquid a solu¬ 
tion of common salt, and it will instantly 
become cloudy or white. If lead ore yields 
three ounces of silver to a ton, it may be 
worked for the silver as well as the lead. 
In Colorado, the average value of silver¬ 
bearing galena is $100 per ton. 

To test the copper ores for silver, dis¬ 
solve them in nitric acid ; then add a few 
drops of muriatic acid, and if silver is pres¬ 
ent, a white curdy precipitate will fall to 
the bottom. Native copper, when polished, 
often shows white spots of silver. 


To estimate the proportion of silver in 
lead ore, reduce a known quantity of the 
clear ore to powder, mix with a little dry 











100 


UNDERGROUND TREASURES. 


soda and a few nails, and heat in a round- 
bottomed iron pot or crucible. The lead 
which is obtained should then be put in a 
cup having ashes at the bottom, and strong¬ 
ly heated in an open furnace. A globule 
of silver will be left, if any is present, and 
being weighed, the percentage can be 
found. 

Rich silver ores may be reduced by mix¬ 
ing them with ten parts of common salt, 
and exposing the mass for hours in an 
open furnace, stirring it frequently. When 
cold reduce to powder and mix with an 
equal quantity of quicksilver and enough 
water to make a paste, and agitate the 
mixture for two days, when the amalgam 
will fall to the bottom. The amalgam is 
then squeezed in a leather bag and washed. 

Silver glance will yield its metal by heat¬ 
ing it before a blow-pipe. 

Assay of Copper Ore. — When the 
ore is native copper and rock, as at Lake 
Superior, it should be pounded and the 
earthy matter washed away. Then mix 








ASSAY OF COPPER. 


IOI 


with a little potash or soda and bring to 
a high heat in a crucible. 

Other copper ores may be tested by dis¬ 
solving them powdered in dilute aqua regia. 
The presence of silver will be shown by a 
white powder on the bottom. Then add 
considerable ammonia. If there is any cop¬ 
per a blue liquor will be produced. Strain 
this through tissue paper, and evaporate to 
dryness. Dissolve the residue in muriatic 
acid, and by putting in a piece of iron or 
zinc, the copper will fall down. Or, add 
to this solution pure potash ; dry and weigh 
the powder thrown down ; every 5 parts 
of it contains 4 parts of copper. 

Gray copper and red copper ores may 
be assayed by heating with charcoal, (both 
powdered,) in a furnace. Malachite and 
azurite should be smelted with borax; 
Copper pyrites and silicate of copper 
with soda or powdered marble. 

A ton of copper ore which contains ten 
per cent, of metal, pays $25 at the furnace. 
The ore of copper when roasted, turns 









102 


UNDERGROUND TREASURES. 


black ; and when thrown into nitric acid 
makes a sky-blue solution. A clean knife- 
blade put into this solution will be coated 
with copper. 

Assay of Iron Ore. —Take a known 
quantity of the ore in fine powder and mix 
thoroughly with dry borax (or with one part 
of fluor spar, one of charcoal and four of 
salt,) and expose it for an hour in a covered 
crucible lined with charcoal to a white heat 
in a wind-furnace for an hour. A button 
of iron will be found at the bottom, which 
determines the percentage. 

Assay of Zinc Ore.— If the weighed 
ore is roasted with powdered charcoal, 
white flowers of zinc will be formed on a 
piece of cold iron held over it. After 
thorough roasting, the residue should be 
weighed ; the loss is the oxide of zinc, and 
every ioo parts of this contain 81 of 
metal. 

All the ores of zinc will dissolve in 
either nitric or hot sulphuric acid. 

Assay of Tin Ore. — Tin-stone will 










ASSAY OF TIN AND LEAD. IO3 


yield up its metal if mixed with charcoal, 
borax and soda, and heated on the hearth 
of a furnace or before a blow-pipe. 

The presence of tin may be tested by 
dissolving the metal thus roasted out, in 
aqua regia and adding a decoction of Bra¬ 
zil-wood: if the metal was tin, the liquid 
will be colored a beautiful crimson. 

Assay of Lead Ore. — Both galena 
and cerussite are rich ores, and when 
abundant pay well. They are easily re¬ 
duced by heat, the former being usually 
mixed with charcoal and iron filings. If 
a western backwoodsman wants shot or 
bullets, he kindles a fire in a hollow tree 
or an old stump, puts some galena on the 
charred wood, and melts it down. After 
cooling, he finds the metal at the bottom. 
The smelting of a ton of lead costs about 
$ 6 . The average price per ton of galena 
is $30. When galena is dissolved in warm 
nitric acid, a clean plate of zinc placed in 
it will be coated with brilliant blades of 
lead ; if the galena contains silver, a plate 













104 UNDERGROUND TREASURES. 


of copper will be served in the same way. 
A solution of chromate of potash poured 
into a solution of lead ore in nitric acid 
will throw down a yellow powder. 

To Test the Purity of Graphite.— 
Its value depends upon the amount of its 
carbon. Pulverize and then dry at a heat 
of about 350 degrees, twenty grains of it; 
then place it in a tube of hard glass four 
or five inches long, half an inch wide and 
closed at one end. Add twenty times as 
much well dried oxide of lead and well 
mix Weigh the tube and contents, and 
afterwards heat before a blow-pipe till the 
contents are completely fused and no 
longer evolve gases. Ten minutes will 
suffice for this. Allow the tube to cool 
and weigh it. The loss in weight is car¬ 
bonic acid. For every twenty-eight parts 
of loss there must have been twelve of 
carbon. 












CHAPTER VI. 


MINERAL SPRINGS. 


WHAT ARE MINERAL SPRINGS—GENERAL LOCATION— 
GAS SPRINGS—IRON SPRINGS—SULPHUR SPRINGS— 
ALUM SPRINGS—EPSOM SPRINGS—SALT SPRINGS— 
WARM SPRINGS—ARTESIAN WELLS AND OIL WELLS, 
AND WHERE TO BORE FOR THEM. 

NY spring which contains a large 
amount of foreign matter, as gas, 
salts and earthy ingredients, is 
called mineral water. The spe¬ 
cial prominence of any ingredient gives it 
its particular name. Many iron springs 
contain salt, salt springs contain iron, and 
both may contain gas ; the name is de¬ 
rived from the most prominent ingredient. 

Our country is rich in mineral springs; 
there is not a State without one. But in 
general they are most numerous in hilly or 
mountainous regions, especially where the 





















IO6 UNDERGROUND TREASURES. 


rocks are much deranged in position, or 
“ faulted,” as the miners say. As for ex¬ 
ample, in Eastern New York and in the 
valley between the Blue Ridge and the 
Alleghany from Harper’s Ferry to the 
Natural Bridge. The Pacific States, also, 
are as remarkable for the number and va¬ 
riety of their mineral springs as for their 
metallic ores. 

Carbonated or Gas Springs.— 
Springs of this class have a peculiar 
sparkling character and are continually 
sending up bubbles of gas. When the 
quantity of gas is small, it may be de¬ 
tected by adding a little lime water which 
will give it a milky appearance and de¬ 
posit a white sediment; or, dip in a piece 
of blue litmus paper (which can be had of 
most druggists), and if there is any car¬ 
bonic acid gas in the water, it will be red¬ 
dened ; or, pour in a little vinegar, stir 
well, and then add a little finely powdered 
sugar, when the gas, if it is there, will 
rise in small bubbles. 












IRON SPRINGS. 


107 


The most celebrated carbonated springs 
are the following: Saratoga and Ballston, 
N. Y.; Clarendon, Vt. ; Sweet Springs in 
Shover’s Valley, Pa. ; Bladon and Bailey 
Springs, Ala. ; “ Boiling Springs ” near 
Pike’s Peak, Col.; Beer Springs near Bear 
River, Or. These- springs contain salt, 
soda, magnesia, lime and iron, and are 
sometimes classed as saline , soda or cha¬ 
lybeate springs. 

Chalybeate or Iron Springs. —The 
presence of iron in a spring may be ascer¬ 
tained by pouring into it an infusion of 
nut-galls, of logwood or of tan-bark, which 
will change it immediately to a black or 
dark color. If the water contains much 
iron, it may be recognized by its inky taste 
and by a yellowish powder on the border 
of the spring or at the bottom of a tum¬ 
bler when allowed to stand awhile. 

If waters have a cool but earthy taste, 
they contain lime; if bitter, they have 
magnesia. The “soda springs,” so called, 














108 UNDERGROUND TREASURES. 


are often only saline, carbonated or mag¬ 
nesia waters. 

The most famous iron springs are at 
Saratoga, Sandlake and Catskill, N. Y.; 
West Bethel, Fryeburg, Eberne and Bethel, 
Me.; Schooley’s Mountain in Washington, 
N. J. ; Bedford, Pittsburg, Frankfort and 
York, Pa. ; Brandywine Springs, Del. ; 
Red Sweet Springs in Monroe County, 
Rawley’s Spring in Rockingham County, 
and Huguenot Springs in Powhattan 
County, Va. ; in Bath County, Ky. ; Yel¬ 
low Springs, O. ; twenty miles east of 
Knoxville, Tenn.; Madison County, Geo.; 
Raymond and Lynchburg, Miss. ; near 
Ogden City, Utah ; near Mt. Shasta, Col. 

Sulphur Springs. —These are easily 
recognized by their unpleasant odor, re¬ 
sembling that of rotten eggs. The water 
blackens silver and a solution of sugar of 
lead. 

Sulphur springs are very numerous. 
The best known are at Saratoga, Sharon, 
Clifton, Avon, Manlius, Chittenango, Dry- 











ALUM AND EPSOM SPRINGS. IO9 


den and Richfield, N. Y.; Highgate and 
Newburg, Vt.; Togus, Bethel and West 
Newfield, Me.; Shover’s Valley, Carlisle 
and Doubling Gap, Pa.; Winchester and 
Warrenton, Va.; Greenbrier and Monroe 
Counties, W. Va. ; Bath County, Ky. ; 
White’s Creek near Nashville and in 
Granger County, Tenn. ; Spartanburg, S. 
C.; Butts County, Geo.; Tallahatta, Ala.; 
Tampa, Fla.; near Bitter Creek and 
Great Salt Lake, Utah ; along the Yellow¬ 
stone River, Mont.; Jackson, Cal. 

Acid or Alum Springs. —These wa¬ 
ters have a more or less sour taste and 
redden blue litmus-paper. 

They are found at Byron and Oak Or¬ 
chard, N. Y.; Blossburg, Pa.; Bath, Rich¬ 
mond and Rockbridge, Va. 

Magnesian or Epsom Springs. —These 
have a bitter taste. To test any water for 
magnesia, add to a glass of it a solution of 
phosphate of soda and some hartshorn ; if 
magnesia is present, the liquid first be- 









no 


UNDERGROUND TREASURES. 


comes turbid, and finally minute crystals 
fall to the bottom. 

There are Epsom springs at Harrods- 
burg and Perryville, Ky.; Westport, O.; 
Raymond, Miss.; Orange County, Ind.; 
Scott County, W. Va. 

Saline or Salt Springs. —These con¬ 
tain a large percentage of common salt, 
and are recognized by their taste. They 
generally contain many ingredients, (gen¬ 
erally seven or eight,) but the salt predom¬ 
inates. A well should contain at least ten 
per cent, of salt to pay for working. The 
Syracuse spring yields a bushel of salt 
to every thirty-three gallons ; while the 
Great Salt Lake contains 22 per cent. 
Among the most important salt wells are 
those at Syracuse, Salina and Liverpool, 
N. Y.; Lubec, Me. ; Shannondale, Va.; 
Bath County, Ky.; Athens County, O. ; 
Hartford, Ind. ; Saginaw, Mich.; Oneida, 
Idaho. 


Thermal or Warm Springs. — Any 
spring is so called, the temperature of 













WARM SPRINGS. 


I I I 


which throughout the year is above that 
of the soil around it. They generally oc¬ 
cur near the line of junction between the 
granite or igneous rocks and the stratified 
rock (slate or limestone) resting upon its 
flanks. The temperature of such waters 
in the United States ranges from 73 to 200 
degrees, the latter being reached by the 
Geysers of Montana. Many iron and sul¬ 
phur springs are also thermal. 

The most noted warm springs are at 
Lebanon, N. Y. ; in Bath, Berkley, Mon¬ 
roe and Scott Counties, Va. ; Buncombe 
Counties, N. C. ; French Brood River, 
Tenn. ; Meriwether County, Geo.; Wash- 
itaw, Ark.; Salt Lake Valley, Utah ; near 
Pyramid Lake, Nev. ; along the Malheur 
and Fall Rivers, Or.; Lincoln Valley, 
Idaho; on Gardiners River, in Madison 
County, and especially in the Yellowstone 
Basin, Mont. 

Artesian Wells. —To sink a flowing 
well with any reasonable prospect of suc¬ 
cess, it is essential that the spot selected 









112 


UNDERGROUND TREASURES. 


should be lower than land in the vicinity, 
although those higher elevations may be 
several miles away. The layers of the 
rocks, also, should dip towards the spot 
rather than away from it. The best indi¬ 
cation, but not a certain one, is a great 
basin-shaped valley, to the centre of which 
the rocks dip on one or more sides. San¬ 
dy, lime and slate rocks are more propi¬ 
tious than granite. 

Oil Wells.— Where there are marks 
of disturbance and misplacement of the 
rocks, there the experienced sink wells. 
Rugged hills and sharply-defined valleys 
are, generally, signs of such dislocation. 
The line or “ break ” from which the rocks 
dip like the roof of a house is considered 
most favorable. There is no such thing 
as an “oil rock,” for the oil is found at 
different depths, and the fissure contain¬ 
ing it is more or less vertical. In Penn¬ 
sylvania, the greatest flowing wells have 
been found in the third sand rock. No 
limestone has afforded any large supply of 











OIL WELLS. 


I 13 


oil. Coal in no large quantities is ever 
found upon or in the immediate vicinity of 
the oil territory. The “show of oil” in¬ 
creases in value as a sign, with the depth 
at which it is found. Especially is the 
finding of a large amount of imprisoned 
gas, though no oil may be present, re¬ 
garded as a good indication that oil is near. 
In the bituminous coal region, a gas spring 
indicates the probable existence of oil in 
the rocks below. But generally, “ surface 
shows ” are seductive. The great oil belt 
runs south-westerly from Oil Creek, Pa , to 
Burning Springs, West Va. But Ohio, 
Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, 
Missouri, Texas, Illinois, Indiana, Michi¬ 
gan and Southern California are also rich 
in petroleum. 








CHAPTER VII. 


ARTIFICIAL JEWELRY —HOW MADE AND 
HOW DETECTED. 


MOCK DIAMONDS—“PARIS BRILLIANTS”—THE MANU¬ 
FACTURE OF PASTES—FALSE RUBY, TOPAZ, SAP¬ 
PHIRE, EMERALD AND CARNELIAN—HOW TO DIS¬ 
TINGUISH TRUE AND FALSE GEMS—IMITATION PEARL 
AND CORAL—ARTIFICIAL GOLD—LIST OF PRECIOUS 
STONES. 


RISTOL Stones,” “Irish Dia¬ 
monds,^’’“Cape MayDiamonds,” 
and “ California Diamonds,” 
are skillfully-cut quartz crys¬ 
tals. They are easily detected by the file 
and by their lightness. 

“ Paris Brilliants ” are more dangerous 
counterfeits, and are very often sold for 
genuine. The great establishment of 
Boarguiguon, in Paris, is the most famous 
manufactory of artificial gems in the world, 
employing about one hundred hands. 
The gems are such perfect imitations 
that they can be distinguished from real 

















IMITATION GEMS, 


I 15 






stones only by the closest scrutiny of those 
experienced in such matters. They fail 
chiefly in hardness ; in brilliancy and grav¬ 
ity they nearly or quite equal the genuine. 

Nature has made the most precious 
stones with the most common materials. 
The diamond is purified charcoal; while 
the matter of clay and white pebbles is the 
base of all other gems. 

The chemist has imitated nature in the 
production of colored gems. The base 
of these imitations, called ‘‘pastes,” is 
“ strass ”—a white glass compound of 300 
parts of pure sand, 96 of potash, 27 of 
borax, 514 of white lead, and one of ar¬ 
senic. The mixture is put into a crucible 
and kept at a high heat for 24 hours. This 
is the philosopher’s stone which competes 
with Golconda. The uncolored glass is 
used in making mock diamonds and white 
topaz. Another paste which has very great 
brilliancy, and, unfortunately, the same 
gravity as the diamond, is made by melting 
100 parts of pure sand, 150 of red lead, 30 







8 














1 6 UNDERGROUND TREASURES. 


of calcined potash, io of calcined borax and 
one of arsenic, keeping the mixture melted 
for two or three days and then cooling very 
slowly. Each ingredient is separately re¬ 
duced to a fine powder. 

False Ruby is made by fusing to¬ 
gether of strass one ounce and six 
drams, glass of antimony 37 grains, and 
purple of cassius one grain; then add 
eight parts more of strass and fuse for 
thirty hours ; cool and remelt pieces in a 
blow-pipe. Or, melt five ounces of strass 
and one dram of manganese. 

False Topaz can be made from 1008 
grains of strass, 43 grains of glass of anti¬ 
mony and one grain of purple of cassius. 

False Sapphire. —Add to eight ounces 
of strass 52 grains of pure oxide of cobalt. 

False Emerald. — To one pound of 
strass add one dram of verdigris and fifteen 
grains of crocus martis. Or, take 2304 
grains of strass, 21 grains of green oxide 
of copper, and one grain of oxide of 
chrome. Or, take an ounce and a half 















FALSE CARNELIAN AND OPAL. II/ 


of rock-crystal, six drams of dry soda, two 
drams of dry borax, two drams of red lead, 
one dram of nitre, twenty grains of red 
oxide of iron, and ten grains of green car¬ 
bonate of copper. 

False Carnelian. —Strass two pounds, 
glass of antimony one pound, rouge two 
ounces, manganese one dram. 

False Amethysts and Opals are 
manufactured ; but the fine opal defies im¬ 
itation, and the amethyst is too common 
in nature to allow much margin for the 
“ pastes.” 

In distinguishing true and false gems, 
no one character should be depended upon. 
All genuine stones will bear rough hand¬ 
ling ; if the merchant says “hands off,” 
refuse to purchase. Any gem worth buy¬ 
ing is worth testing. 

First: try the hardness . The file will 
make no impression on the diamond and 
ruby, and will with difficulty scratch the 
other gems ; while the “pastes” are easily 
marred. All the precious stones scratch 












118 


UNDERGROUND TREASURES. 


window glass, although opal will not attack 
common bottle glass. All imitations 
easily yield to sand. The sapphire is the 
hardest of colored gems, and opal is the 
softest. The emerald will hardly scratch 
rock-crystal; its counterfeit not at all. 
Topaz will scratch ordinary ruby, but will 
not touch sapphire. 

Secondly: as to weight. This is the 
most accurate method, but the stone must 
be taken from its setting. The mode of 
taking the gravity has already been given 
(page 13), and the amount of each is stated 
in Chapter II. Garnet is the heaviest 
of gems ; weighed in water it loses only 
one-fourth of its weight; i. e ., if a red 
garnet be suspended by a fine thread from 
a delicate balance and immersed in a glass 
of water under it, one-quarter of its ordi¬ 
nary weight in air must be added to the 
pan from which it is suspended to re¬ 
store the equilibrium. In like manner, 
ruby and sapphire lose a little more. The 
diamond and white topaz lose two-sevenths 









HOW TO TELL FALSE JEWELRY. I 1 9 


of their weight. Rock-crystal, amethyst, 
carnelian and agate lose five-thirteenths; 
and opal about one-half, being the lightest 
of gems. The emerald loses more than 
one-third. 

As “paste” can be made so as to have 
the same specific gravity as the genuine 
article, this test alone can not be relied 
upon ; but very few of the imitations are 
so carefully made. The test is very con¬ 
venient in distinguishing gems of like color 
from each other, as oriental ruby, spinel 
ruby and red tourmaline, and green tourma¬ 
line and emerald. 

Thirdly : characteristics depending on 
light and electricity. It is not easy to look 
through a diamond of the first water, while 
imitations readily permit objects to be seen 
through them. A very delicate and per¬ 
fect test of a diamond, distinguishing it 
from all colorless gems, as white topaz, 
white sapphire and white zircon, but not 
from “ pastes,” is to look through it at a 
pin-hole in a card. This requires some dex- 


O 








UNDERGROUND TREASURES. 


120 


terity, and the gem should be fixed to a 
steady object by a bit of wax at a proper 
distance. A true diamond will show but 
one hole, all the others will show two. As 
white topaz, when large, is a magnificent 
stone, it is often palmed off for a diamond 
of great value; but this test is invariably 
certain. 

A true diamond retains its brilliancy 
under water. 

When a colored stone is placed in the 
path of the solar spectrum (the row of 
seven colors into which sunlight is sepa¬ 
rated by a prism), its color will vary with 
the portion of the spectrum which falls up¬ 
on it; and two stones of the same color, 
but of a different nature, will exhibit dif¬ 
ferent effects. Thus, a paste placed beside 
a fine colored gem, betrays its worthless¬ 
ness. A simpler method of testing stones 
is to look at them through a bit of glass, 
colored red, yellow, blue or green. Every 
stone will exhibit, under this test, proper¬ 
ties peculiar to itself, and by which its na- 



























































































































REAL GEMS DISTINGUISHED. 123 


ture may be recognized. This is also a 
severe test for the purity of tint; for if 
pure and unmixed, the stone will appear 
completely black in every other light but 
its own color. Milky and turbid stones 
can not bear this test. 

A first-class ruby has the color of the 
blood as it spirts from an artery. The 
deeper the hue of the emerald the more it 
is valued ; it loses none of its brilliancy by 
artificial light. The pale rose topaz, the 
kind most esteemed, is artificially colored 
by heating it. 

If topaz or tourmaline be gently heated, 
it becomes electric and will attract a thread 
or suspended pith-ball. No imitation will 
do this. All real gems when rubbed will 
attract the pith-ball, and retain the power 
a long time ; the pastes also become elec¬ 
tric, but soon lose their attraction. Rub 
a glass tube with a piece of flannel and 
bring it near a suspended pith-ball; the 
latter will be strongly attracted and then 
repelled. Immediately rub a genuine dia- 


t> 








124 UNDERGROUND TREASURES. 


mond and bring it near the ball, and it 
will be attracted. A paste diamond thus 
rubbed would repel it. 

Finally: the breath remains much longer 
on the pastes than on real gems. The 
former also betray under a magnifying 
glass small air bubbles. Diamonds and 
other first-class stones are always cold to 
the touch. 

False Pearls. —These are glass beads 
coated with a mixture of three ounces of 
scales of the blay or bleak fish, half an 
ounce of fine glue, one ounce of white 
wax and one ounce of pulverized alabaster. 
Powdered opal is sometimes used ; also the 
powdered pearl of the oyster and other 
shells soaked in vinegar, and made up with 
gum tragacanth. Artificial pearls are 
usually brittle, and do not weigh more than 
two-thirds as much as the genuine. 

False Corals. —These are made of 
resin and vermilion ; or of marble powder 
made into a paste with varnish or soluble 
glass and a little isinglass, colored by Chi- 











IMITATION GOLD. 


125 


nese vermilion, and then moulded. They 
are used for setting in cheap jewelry. The 
knife shows it to be too soft to be genuine. 

Artificial Gold. — The following 
oroid or imitation gold is sometimes sold 
for the genuine article which it closely 
resembles. Pure copper, 100 parts by 
weight, is melted in a crucible, and then 
6 parts of magnesia, 3.6 of sal-ammoniac, 
1.8 of quicklime and 9. of tartar are added 
separately and gradually in the form of 
powder. The whole is then stirred for 
about half an hour, and 17 parts of zinc 
or tin in small grains are thrown in and 
thoroughly mixed. The crucible is now 
covered and the mixture kept melted for 
half an hour longer, when it is skimmed 
and poured out. 

Any imitation of gold may be detected 
by its weight, which is not one-half of 
what it should be, and by its dissolving in 
nitric acid while pure gold is untouched. 








126 UNDERGROUND TREASURES. 


PRECIOUS STONES. 


ARRANGED ACCORDING TO COLOR AND IN ORDER 
OF HARDNESS. 


Limpid'. 
Diamond, 
Sapphire, 
Topaz, 

Rock Crystal. 

Blue. 

Sapphire, 

Topaz, 

Spinel, 

Aquamarine, 

Indicolite, 

Turquoise, 

Kyanite. 

Green. 

Oriental Emerald, 

Chrysoberyl, 

Emerald, 

Chrysoprase, 

Chrysolite, 

Amazon Stone, 

Malachite. 


Yellow. 

Diamond, 

Topaz, 

Fire-Opal. 

Red. 

Sapphire-Ruby, 

Spinel-Ruby, 

Brazilian-Topaz, 

Hyacinth, 

Carnelian, 

Rubellite, 

Garnet. 

Violet. 

Oriental Amethyst, 
Amethyst. 

Black and Brown. 
Diamond, 
Tourmaline, 
Hyacinth, 
Garnet. 
















CHAPTER VIII. 


DISCOVERY OF GOLD IN CALIFORNIA.* 

T was on the 19th day of Janu¬ 
ary, 1848, that James W. Marshall, 
while engaged in digging a race 
for a saw-mill at Coloma, about 
thirty-five miles eastward from Sutter’s 
Fort, found some pieces of yellow metal, 
which he and the half-dozen men work¬ 
ing with him at the mill supposed to 
be gold. He felt confident that he had 
made a discovery of great importance, but 
he knew nothing of either chemistry or 
gold-mining, so he could not prove the 
nature of the metal nor tell how to obtain 
it in paying quantities. Every morning 


*From Simonin’s “Underground Life ,” page .346 























2 8 UNDERGROUND TREASURES. 


he went down to the race to look for the 
bits of the metal; but the other men at 
the mill thought Marshall was very wild 
in his ideas, and they continued their la¬ 
bors in building the mill, and in sowing 
wheat and planting vegetables. The swift 
current of the mill-race washed away a 
considerable body of earthy matter, leav¬ 
ing the coarse particles of gold behind; 
so Marshall’s collection of specimens con¬ 
tinued to accumulate, and his associates 
began to think there might be something 
in his gold mines after all. About the 
middle of February, a Mr. Bennet, one of 
the party employed at the mill, went to 
San Francisco for the purpose of learning 
whether this metal was precious, and there 
he was introduced to Isaac Humphrey, who 
had washed for gold in Georgia. The ex¬ 
perienced miner saw at a glance that he 
had the true stuff before him, and, after a 
few inquiries, he was satisfied that the 
diggings must be rich. He made immedi¬ 
ate preparation to go to the mill, and tried 













THE SAW-MILL OF COLOMA 

the place where gold was first discovered in California 

































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































FIRST WASHING FOR GOLD. 13 I 


to persuade some of his friends to go with 
him ; but they thought it would be only a 
waste of time and money, so he went with 
Bennet for his sole companion. 

He arrived at Coloma on the 7th of 
March, and found the work at the mill go¬ 
ing on as if no gold existed in the neigh¬ 
borhood. The next day he took a pan and 
spade, and washed some of the dirt in the 
bottom of the mill-race in places where 
Marshall had found his specimens, and, in 
a few hours, Humphrey declared that these 
mines were far richer than any in Georgia. 
He now made a rocker and went to work 
washing gold industriously, and every day 
yielded to him an ounce or two of metal. 
The men at the mill made rockers for them¬ 
selves, and all were soon busy in search 
of the yellow metal. Everything else was 
abandoned; the rumor of the discovery 
spread slowly. In the middle of March 
Pearson B. Reading, the owner oi a large 
ranch at the head of the Sacramento val¬ 
ley, happened to visit Sutters Fort, and 









132 UNDERGROUND TREASURES. 


hearing of the mining at Coloma, he went 
thither to see it. He said that if similar¬ 
ity of formation could be taken as a proof, 
there must be gold-mines near his ranch; 
so, after observing the method of washing, 
he posted off, and in a few weeks he was 
at work on the bars of Clear Creek, nearly 
two hundred miles north-westward from 
Coloma. A few days after Reading had 
left, John Bid well, now representative of 
the northern district of the State in the 
lower House of Congress, came to Coloma, 
and the result of his visit was that, in less 
than a month, he had a party of Indians 
from his ranch washing gold on the bars 
of Feather River, twenty-five miles north¬ 
westward from Coloma. Thus the mines 
were opened at far distant points. 

The first printed notice of the discovery 
of gold, was given in the California news¬ 
paper published in San Francisco on the 
15th of March. On the 29th of May the 
same paper, announcing that its publica¬ 
tion would be suspended, says : — “ The 









FIRST QUARTZ MINING. 


133 


whole country, from San Francisco to Los 
Angelos, and from the sea-shore to the base 
of the Sierra Nevada, resound with the sor¬ 
did cry of gold ! gold ! gold ! while the field 
is left half planted, the house half built, and 
everything neglected but the manufacture 
of picks and shovels, and the means of 
transportation to the spot where one man 
obtained one hundred and twenty-eight 
dollars’ worth of the real stuff in one day’s 
washing; and the average for all con¬ 
cerned, is twenty dollars per diem.” 

The first to commence quartz mining in 
California were Capt. Wm. Jackson and 
Mr. Eliason, both Virginians, and the first 
machine used was a Chilian mill. 

The Reid Mine, in North Carolina, was 
the first gold mine discovered and worked 
in the United States, and the only one in 
North America from which, up to 1825, 
gold was sent to the Mint. 








CHAPTER IX. 


DISCOVERY OF SILVER IN NEVADA, AND 
UNITED STATES GOLD AND SILVER STA¬ 
TISTICS. 

EPARATED from California by 
the snowy chain of the Sierra, 
the State of Nevada has been 
celebrated, since i860, for its sil¬ 
ver mining. In November, 1859, the news 
of the discovery of silver mines near Lake 
Washoe was confirmed at San Francisco ; 
and in June, i860, the mines of Washoe, 
the central western portion of the State, 
had already sent such rich results to Eu¬ 
rope, that the French Ministers of Fi¬ 
nance and Commerce despatched a mining 
engineer to Nevada to make a close in¬ 
spection of these wonderful mines. It 
seemed as if the world were about to be 
inundated with silver, as it had been by 
gold ten years previously; and what would 














SILVER MINES OF WASHOE. 135 


those economists now say, who had only 
recently counselled that the value of gold 
coin should be lowered or that gold should 
be demonetized on account of the disturbed 
relation of these precious metals—the 
bases of the standard of payment through¬ 
out the world generally. Whilst the 
French engineer visited Nevada and pre¬ 
pared his report, the miners of Washoe 
continued working their veins of metal. 
At the present time, 1881, the mines on 
the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada an¬ 
nually produce about $12,500,000 of silver, 
chiefly from the Comstock lode; the total 
yield of gold from the quartz mines of 
California is about $17,000,000 per annum. 
The Comstock lode, in the State of Nevada, 
may be ranked among the most productive 
metalliferous deposits ever encountered in 
the history of mining enterprise; its pro¬ 
ductive capacity, as now being developed, 
surpassing, if the mass of its ores do not in 
richness equal, those of the most famous 
mines of Mexico and Peru. 


9 















136 UNDERGROUND TREASURES. 


The known limits of this lode cover a 
space of 22,546 feet in a nearly due north 
and south direction (magnetic). The va¬ 
riation of the needle in that locality is 
i 6}4 degrees east. Upon this extensive 
seat of metalliferous deposits, the mines 
are divided into three groups: the Vir¬ 
ginia Group, seventeen mines, with claims 
of 13,549^ f^et; Gold Hill Group, nine 
mines, of 6,39feet; American Flat 
Group, three mines, of 2,600 feet. The 
three groups of twenty-nine mines thus 
occupy a total length on the lode of 
22,546 feet. The Comstock lode was dis¬ 
covered in 1859, by a pit sunk for a water 
hole on the ground of the Ophir mine; 
milling the ore began in October of the 
same year, but the amount of bullion 
taken out in i860 is estimated at but 
$100,000. Since then the Comstock has 
become the greatest gold and silver mine 
in the world. To the end of 1878 the 
yield was estimated at $291,162,205, as 
follows: From i860 to 1870 inclusive, of 















YIELD OF PRECIOUS METALS. 1 37 


gold and silver together, unclassified, 
$102,466,240; 1871 to 1878 inclusive, gold, 
$88,691,498, silver, $91,278,623 ; 1877 and 
1878, gold and silver, unclassified, $1,725,- 
844. Making allowance for the loss by 
slimes and tailings, the gross contents 
of the lode as worked up to 1878 are esti¬ 
mated at $363,961,205. About 6,500,000 
tons of ore have been extracted in this 
time, which a good authority estimates of 
an average value to the company of $45 
per ton of 2,000 pounds.* 


ANNUAL PRODUCTION of GOLD and SILVER in the 
UNITED STATES from 1853 to 1880, inclusive. 

[From the Reports of the Director of the Mint.] 


YEAR. 

PRODUCTION. 

TOTAL. 

Gold. 

Silver. 


Dollars. 

Dollars. 

1 Dollars. 


65,000,000 


65,000,000 

io 53 . 

tRc a 

60,000,000 

55,000,000 


60,000,000 

55,000,000 

1C 04 .. 

tRcc 


xo DD *. 

1856 

55,000,000 


55,000,000 


55,000,000 


55,000,000 

10 o 7 . 

1858. 

50,000,000 

500,000 

50,500,000 

1859. 

50,000,000 

100,000 

50,100,000 

1860 . 

46,000,000 

150,000 1 

1 46,150,000 


* Church. The Comstock Lode, its Formation and 
History, N. Y., 1879, pp. I~ 5 - 




































I38 UNDERGROUND TREASURES. 


ANNUAL PRODUCTION of GOLD and SILVER in the 
UNITED STATES from 1853 to 1880, inclusive. 

[From the Reports of the Director of the Mint.] 


YEAR. 

PRODUCTION. 

TOTAL. 

Gold. 

Silver. 


Dollars . 

Dollars . 

Dollars . 

1861. 

43,000,000 

2,000,000 

45,000,000 

1862. ... 

39,200,000 

4,500,000 

43 , 7 oo , oo ° 

1863. 

40,000,000 

8,500 000 

48,500,000 

1864. 

46,100,000 

11 ,000,000 

57,100,000 

1865. 

53,225,000 

11,250,000 

64,475,000 

1866. 

53.500,000 

10,000,000 

63,500,000 

1867. 

51,725,000 

13,500,000 

65,225,000 

1868. 

48,000,000 

12,000,000 

60,000,000 

1 869. 

49,500,000 

12,000,000 

61,500,000 

1870. 

50,000,000 

16,000,000 

66,000,000 

1871. 

43,500,000 

23,000,000 

66,500,000 

1872 . 

36,000,000 

28,750,000 

64,750,000 

1873 . 

36,000,000 

35,750,000 

7 1 ,750,000 

1874 . 

40,000,000 

32,000,000 

72 ,000,000 

1875 . 

40,000,000 

32,000,000 

72,000,000 

1876. 

46,750,000 

38,500,000 

85,250,000 

1877 . 

45,100,000 

38,950,000 

84,050,000 

1878.... . 

50,000,000 

49,000,000 

99,000,000 

1879 . 

38,900,000 

40,812,000 

79,712,000 

1880. 

36,000,000 

37,700,000 

73,700,000 


The consumption of Gold and Silver in the Arts and Manufac¬ 
tures from 1874 to 1879, inclusive, in the United States, was esti¬ 
mated ; by the Director of the Mint, in 1879, as follows : 


YEAR. 

Gold. 

Silver. 

l 874 . 

$4,578,328 
5,382,098 
4 > i 53, 1 84 
3,687,192 
5,078,701 
3 > 893, 12 5 

$4,406,560 

4,237,841 

3,812,018 

3,774,240 

£,210,152 

5,977,300 

1873 . 

1876 . 

1877... 

1878. 

1879. .. 


































































INDEX 






PAGE 

Acid or alum springs. 109 

Agate.20, 21 

localities. 21 

value. 20 

Alleghenies. 14 

Alum. 21 

localities. 21, 22 

springs. 109 

value. 21 

American Flat group, silver 

mines. 136 

Amethyst. 22 

false, how made. 117 

localities. 22 

value . 22 

Anthracite.22, 23 

localities. 23 

value. 23 

Antimony ore.23, 24 

localities. 23 

value . 23 

Artesian Wells. in, 112 

Artificial gold, how made.. 125 

jewelry, how made and 

detected. 114-125 

Asbestus. 24 

localities. 24 

value. 24 

Asphaltum.24, 25 

localities . 25 

value. 25 

Assay of copper ore... 100-102 

gold ore.95-98 

iron ore. 102 

lead ore. 103, 104 

ores.92-104 

silver ore.99, 100 

tin ore. 102, 103 

zinc ore. 102 

Atlantic coast. 14 

Azurite. 25 

localities. 25 

smelting.101 




PAGE 

Azurite value. 25 

Baryta, localities. 26 

or heavy spar. 26 

value. 26 

Bidwell, John. 130-132 

Bituminous coal. 27 

localities . 27 

region . 14 

Blende. 27, 28 

localities. 28 

value. 28 

Blow pipe. 17 

Bog iron ore . 29 

localities. 29 

value. 29 

Boring. . 83 

Brazil, diamonds in. 84 

Bristol stones. 114 

Brittle s Ivjt ore. 30 

Iocalii e. 30 

value . 30 

Brown coal. 30 

localities. 30 

value. 30 

Brown Hematite or Lim- 

onite.56, 57 

Calamine. 31 

localities. 31 

value . 31 

California diamonds. 114 

discovery of gold in. 127-133 

Cannel coal.31, 32 

localities. 32 

value. 32 

Cape May diamonds. 114 

Carbonated or gas 

spring. 106, 107 

Carnelian. 32 

false, how made. 117 

localities. 32 

value. 32 

(»39) 























































































n 


% 


140 


INDEX. 


PAGE 

Celestine.32, 33 

localities. 33 

value. 33 

Cerussite. 33 

and Galena, reduction of. 103 

localities. 33 

value. 33 

Chalybeate or iron 

springs. 107, 108 

Chromic iron. 34 

localities. 34 

value . 34 

Cinabar. 34, 33 

localities. 35 

value. 35 

Clear Creek, Cal., gold in.. 132 

Coal, anthracite. 22 

bituminous. 27 

brown. 30 

cannel. 31, 32 

Cobalt pyrites. 35 

localities. 35 

value. 35 

Coloma, Cal., discovery of 

gold there . 127 

Colorado silver lodes. . 89 

Colors, distinction of miner¬ 
als by. 12 

Comstock Lode. 135-137 

gold and silver produced 

from.. 136, 137 

Connecticut river valley.... 14 

Copper. 36 

glauce. 36 

localities. 36 

value. 36 

gray copper ore, assaying 101 

localities. 36 

nickel. 37 

localities. 37 

value. 37 

ore, assay of. 100-102 

gray . 51 

red. 65 

red, assaying . 101 

variegated. 78 

ores, test for silver. 99 

testing . 100-102 

silver in. 101 


% 


PAGE 

Copper, percentage of in 

ores, which will pay... 101 

Pyrites. 37, 38, 90 

localities. 38 

smelting. 101 

value. 38 

searching for. 90 

seldom in new formations 90 

silicate of. 70 

smelting. ... 101 

value. 36 

where found. 14, 90 

Corals, false, how made.... 124 

Descriptive list of useful 

minerals.20-80 

Diamond. 41 

estimation of the value 

of. 86 

imperfections of. 86 

localities. 41 

value. ... 41 

Diamonds, characteristics 

of. 85, 86 

colors of. 83 

finest. 84 

in Brazil. 84 

in their native state. 83 

mode of discovering in 

Brazil. 84 

prospecting for. 83-87 

where found. 87 

Directions for determining 

specimens by the key 15-19 
Discovery of silver in Ne¬ 
vada. 134-137 

Effervescence in minerals.. 12 

Eliason, Mr. 133 

Emerald, false, how made.. 116 

to test. 118 

Emery.41, 42 

localities. 42 

value. 42 

Epsom springs. 109, no 

False amethyst, how made. 117 

carnelian, how made. 117 

corals, how made.124 


M 


CJ 






















































































INDEX 


141 


PAGE 

False emerald, how made.. 116 

opal, how made. 117 

pearls, how made.124 

ruby, how made. 116 

sapphire, how made. 116 

topaz, how made.116 

Feather river. Cal., gold in. 132 

Fluor spar. 42 

localities. 42 

value. 42 

Franklinite. 43 

localities. 43 

value. 43 

Galena. 43, 44 

and Cerussite, reduction of 103 

localities. 44 

purest specimens poorest 

in silver. 91 

value. 43 

Garnet.44, 45 

localities. 45 

the heaviest of gems.... 118 

to test. 118 

value . 45 

Gas springs. 106, 107 

Gems, to test by weighing in 

water. 118 

true and false, how to 

distinguish. 117-124 

Glass, minerals which will 

not sera ch. 16, 19 

minerals which will 

scratch. 15, 18 

Gold. ... 46-50 

and platinum, washing 

for.'.94, 95 

and silver consumed in 

the arts in the United 

States..137, 138 

and silver, production of 
the United States. 137, 138 
and silver where they 

abound. 14 

artificial, how made. 125 

bearing rock. 88 

bearing sands . 88 

extraction of. 93 

Hill group, silver mines.. 136 


PAGE 

Gold,how distinguished.... 89 

imitation, how to detect.. 125 
in California, discovery 

°f . I2 7 -I 33 

in California, first an¬ 
nouncement of dis¬ 
covery. 132 

in quartz rock, to find the 

amount of... 98 

localities. 46-50 

mine first worked in the 

United States. 133 

ore, assay of.95-98 

searching for.87-89 

substances mistaken for.. 89 

testing any substance sup¬ 
posed to contain.97 

to separate from silver.... 97 

to test the purity of. 98 

where found.87-89 

Granite regions. 14 

Graphite .50, 51 

localities. 50, 51 

to test the purity of. 104 

value. 50 

Gravity, mode of determi¬ 
nation of. 12 

Gray copper ore. 51 

localities. 51 

value. 51 

Gypsum . 14, 52 

localities. 52 

value. 52 

Heavy spar or baryta. 26 

Hematite, brown. 56, 57 

Horizontal beds. 82 

Horn silver.. . 53 

localities. 53 

value. 53 

Humphrey, Isaac. 128 

Indications for minerals.... 81 

Irish Diamond.114 

Iron, chromic. . 34 

how it occurs. 94 

ore. 14 

assay of. 102 

bog. 29 
















































































142 INDEX. 


c 


PAGE 

Iron ore, brown hematite 56, 57 


lenticular. 56 

magnetic. 57, 58 

magnetic, found by the 

compass. 91 

micaceous. 62 

red hematite.65, 66 

specular.73, 74 

pyrites.. 53, 54 

localities. 54 

value.53, 54 

searching for. 91 

spathic. 73 

springs. 107, 108 

testing minerals for. 91 

Jackson, Captain Wm..... 133 

Jasper... 54 

localities. 55 

value. 55 

Jewelry, artificial, how 

made and detected. 114-125 

Kaolin. 55, 56 

localities . 55 

value. 55 

Lead ore, assay of... 103, 104 

to detect silver in. 99 

searching for. . 90 

veins, thickest. 91 

where found. 90 

Lenticular iron ore. 56 

localities. 56 

value . 56 

Limestone regions. 14 

Limonite or brown hema- 

, t!t , e . 56, 57 

localities. 57 

value. 57 

Magnesian springs.... 109, no 

Magnetic. 12 

iron ore. 57, 58 

found by the compass.. 91 

localities. 58 

value. 58 

Pyrites.58, 59 

localities. 59 

value . co 


PAGE 

Malachite.59, 60, xoi 

localities. 59, 60 

value. 59 

Manganese, oxyd of.... 63, 64 

spar. 60 

localities. 60 

value. 60 

Marble. 60, 61 

localities. 61 

regions. 14 

Marshall,Jas. W., discovery 
of gold in California 

by. 127-131 

Metals, found near their 

source. 82 

how they occur. 94 

Mica. 61, 62 

localities.. ... 62 

value. 62 

Micaceous iron ore. 62 

localities. 62 

value.62 

Mineral riches, how dis¬ 
covered. 81 

springs . 105-112 

location of. 105 

no indications of ores.. 83 

what are they. 105 

Minerals as a source of our 

nation’s wealth. 9 

descriptive list of.20-80 

regions which offer best 
inducements to search 

for. 14 

sections of the United 

States, richest in. 14 

species in the United 

States, how many. 11 

specific gravity of.... . 12, 13 
useful in the United States 11 
which will not scratch 

glass. 16, 19 

which will scratch glass 15, 18 

Mississippi Valley. 14 

Money in the rocks. 9 


Nickel, copper. 37 

Nitre . 63 

localities. 63 























































































INDEX, 


143 


PAGE 

Nitre, value. 63 

N odules. 82 

Ochres. 91 

Oil wells. 112, 113 

Opal, false, how made. 117 

the softest of colored gems 118 

Opaque minerals. 12 

Ore on a hillside, indica¬ 
tions of. 82 

veins generally vertical.. 82 

when it will pay. 92 

Ores, assay of.92-104 

minimum percentages of 
metal in which will pay 93 
Oxyd of Manganese.... 63, 64 


Pacific coast. 14 

Panning....94, 95 

Paris brilliants.114 

Pastes, composition of. 115 

Pearls, false, how made.... 124 

Platinum . 64 

localities. 64 

value. 64 

washing for.94, 95 

Pockets. 82 

Precious stones, color and 

order of hardness. 126 

Prospecting for dia¬ 
monds. 83-87 

Pyrites, iron. 53, 54 

cobalt. 35 

copper... 37> 3 8 , 9° 

magnetic. 58, 59 

testing for gold. 96 

yield of gold by. 97 


Quartz mining in California, 

commencement of.. 133 

ores, yield of ... . 96 

rock, to find the amount 

of gold in. 98 

testing for gold.95, 96 

Quicksilver, use of in assay¬ 
ing. 9 6 

Reading, Pearson B . 131 


PAGE 

Read mine, first gold mine 

worked in United States 133 

Red copper ore. 65 

localities. 65 

value. 65 

hematite.65, 66 

localities. 66 

value. 65 

silver ore. 66 

localities. 66 

value. 66 

Rennselaerite. 67 

localities. 67 

value. 67 

River sand^ worth working 

for gold. 98 

Rock crystal. 67 

localities . 67 

value. 67 

salt. 68 

localities. 68 

suspected of containing 
silver, treatment of.... 89 

Rocky mountains. 14 

Ruby, characteristics of. .. 85 

false, how made. 116 

spinel. 74 

to test. 118, 123 

Russia, gold how obtained 

in. 94 

Rutile. 68 

localities. 68 

value. 68 


Saline or salt springs.. 109, no 

Salt springs. no 

Sapphire, false, how made. 116 

the hardest of colored 

gems. 118 

to test. 118 

Searching for copper. 90 

diamonds. 83-87 

gold.87-89 

iron. 91 

lead. 90 

silver. 89, 90 

Serpentine. 69 

localities. 69 

value . 69 























































































144 


INDEX, 


% 


PAGE 

Shaft, cost of sinking. 83 

Silicate of copper.. 70 

localities. 70 

smelting. 101 

value. 70 

Silver. 70, 71 

and gold, consumption in 
the arts in the United 

States. 137, 138 

and gold, production of 
the United States. 137, 138 

glance. 71 

localities. 71 

reducing. 100 

value.♦. 71 

horn. 53 

in copper ores. 101 

in lead and copper ores.. 99 

in lead ore, to detect. 99 

to estimate the propor¬ 
tion of.99, 100 

in Nevada. 134-137 

localities. 70 

native gold in. 97 

ore, assay of.99, 100 

brittle. 30 

red. 66 

ores, rich reduction of.... 100 
pure easily recognized.... 99 

searching for. 80, 90 

to test a globule of for gold 97 
to test copper ores for ... 99 

where found. 89 

Slate regions. 14 

Smaltine. 72 

localities. 72 

value. 72 

Smithsonite. 72 

localities. 72 

value. 72 

Spar manganese.. 60 

Spathic iron . 73 

localities. 73 

value. 73 

Specific gravity, mode of 

determination of ... 12, 13 

Specular iron ore.73, 74 

localities. 74 

value. 74 


Spinel ruby.... . 

localities.. 

PAGE 

value.. 


Steatite. 


localities. 


value. . 

• ••• 75 

Stones, precious, color 

and 

order of hardness.. 


Strass for making 

false 

jewels. 


Strontianite. 

•• 75 . 76 

localities. 

.... 76 

value. 


Sulphur. 

.... 76 

localities. 


springs. 

108, 109 

Testing minerals. 


Thermal springs. 

no, in 

Tin ore. 

•• 76, 77 

assay of. 

102, IO3 

localities.. 


value. 

. 76 

presence of, testing for... 103 

Topaz. 


characteristics of... 

. 85 

false, how made. 


localities. 


to test.1x8, 

120, 12a 

value. 


Tourmaline. 


localities. 


to test . 


value. 


Translucent minerals. 


Trap regions. 


True and false gems, 

how 

to distinguish. 

. X17-124 


United States, consumption 
of gold and silver in the 

arts. 137, 138 

gold and silver statistics 

of . 137, 138 

Useful minerals, descriptive 

list of.20-80 

in the United States...., 11 

I Valuable minerals disguised 10 









































































































































































































* 


































































































Pounded by Mathew Carey, 1785. 


CATALOGUE 

op 

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Tables showing the Weight of Round, Square, and 
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18 


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